In 1980, 264 pottery vessels were stolen during a break-in at the Erskine Ramsay Archaeological Repository at Moundville Archaeological Park and have been missing ever since. An investigation by local police, the F.B.I., and publications in the Journal of Field Archaeology could not help bring the missing artifacts back. Now that the internet and social media is widely available, the word can be spread yet again on a wider scale about the theft of the highest-grade pottery vessels in the collection at the time.

A private group, Associates for the Return of Moundville Artifacts, is offering a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the return of these artifacts. If you have any information as to the whereabouts of the stolen vessels, please call the confidential tip line at (205) 348-2800.

You can visit the Stolen Artifacts Index here to see photographs of each missing pottery piece, as well as its associated number and a written description.