A human skull, fossils, and old cannonballs discovered in huge, bizarre hoard after homes were raided, says report

• Police in Spain found and seized hundreds of archaeological artifacts from two private homes.
• The artifacts included a human skull, ancient bones, and 18th-century weapons, police said.

Spanish police found and seized hundreds of archaeological artifacts, including many fossils, a human skull, and 18th-century weapons, in two homes in Alicante, Spain.

The seizure was part of an operation called "Operation Osarium," which began last November, Spain's Civil Guard said in a press release last week.

The operation was launched after police were tipped off about a home in the region that allegedly contained ancient skeletal remains, The Guardian reported.

Police found the remains in the home in Gata de Gorgos in eastern Spain and, with the help of an archaeologist, identified some bone fragments to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old, the Civil Guard said in the press release.

The collection was deemed to be illegal due to the lack of documentation detailing their origin, according to the press release.

The suspect then directed authorities towards another home in nearby Dénia, where police found an even more enormous trove of ancient artifacts, the press release said.

Police described the collection of Roman ointments, Bronze Age ceramics, and 18th-century cannonballs as "one of the largest illegal private collections" in Alicante, CNN reported.

The collection also included a human skull, an iron grenade, and paleolithic flint tools, the Civil Guard said.

The Civil Guard said it is now investigating the two owners of these collections. They could face charges stemming from the misappropriation of goods of artistic, historical, cultural, or scientific value.

The objects are being stored in the Archaeological Museum of Denia, per the press release.