- A tourist was arrested in Greece after police say they stole marble from the Acropolis.
- They were charged with aggravated theft and violating a protection of cultural heritage law, reports said.
A Romanian tourist was arrested on Tuesday after police say they tried to steal pieces of marble from the Acropolis in Athens, according to local media reports.
According to local media, a woman alerted police after she saw the 36-year-old tourist holding two marble pieces from the archaeological site.
The tourist apparently wanted to bring the pieces of marble back home as a "souvenir," Greek news outlet Proto Thema reported.
The Acropolis, which is over 2,000 years old, is an ancient citadel containing the remains of several historic buildings, the most famous being the Parthenon. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, and one of Greece's major tourist attractions.
Greek outlet Iefimerida reported that police arrested the tourist on charges of aggravated theft and a violation of the law on the protection of cultural heritage.
They told police that they didn't know that it was illegal, per Iefimerida.
The unnamed tourist also claimed that they didn't cause any damage to the monument because the marble had already fallen off, the outlet said.
There are contradicting reports on the gender of the tourist. According to Proto Thema, the person was a woman, while reports in Iefimerida and the New York Post referred to them as a man.
Insider contacted the Acropolis for clarification but did not immediately receive a response.
Iefimerida reported that the pieces of marble had been confiscated and sent to the Ephorate of Antiquities for assessment.
This isn't the first time this year that police have been called to deal with theft from the ancient site.
In March, a 26-year-old tourist was arrested after police said they found him in possession of 33 stones and three pieces of marble, which he had earlier removed from the archaeological site, according to the Greek City Times.
Insider has also reported on how tourists across Europe have seemingly become more brazen this summer, with multiple incidents of people defacing historic monuments.
Meanwhile, someone who stole stones from the Acropolis years ago returned them in 2018, sending a package to the head of the Greek Department of Tourism in New York with an apology note, per Athens News.