TATOI Archaeologists searching the former royal estate outside Athens have discovered a treasure trove of art and antiquities, the fate of which had been unknown since ex-King Constantine fled Greece four decades ago.

More than 200 ancient items and 300 paintings were found inside sealed containers in a royal stable and in the basement of the main residence at Tatoi, some 25km (15 miles) northwest of the Greek capital, officials at the Ministry of Culture reported.

A team of 21 archaeologists and restorers started work at the crumbling, 19th-century estate three months ago to catalogue its contents before restoration work starts to create a new role for the site.

The collection includes the bronze helmet of an Ancient Greek soldier, ancient glasswork including a perfume vial from Roman times, idols and clay vessels – among them a 2,700-year-old painted jug bearing the form of a horseman and found intact, to the amazement of the archaeologists.

The paintings are mainly 19th-century Greek but several belong to the 18th-century French and Venetian schools.

The search also yielded more than 100 religious icons and vessels, most of them not known to be in the royal collection catalogued by the late Queen Frederika, mother of Constantine and Sofia, the present-day Queen of Spain.

Dimitris Kaziannis, an archaeologist, said that many of the objects had also not appeared in a later catalogue drawn up in 1973 or a final tally drawn up in 1991, when the former Royal Family was permitted to remove some items.

Home to the Greek Royal Family for decades, Tatoi in its heyday welcomed European royalty – among them many relatives – from Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to King Edward VII of England. Originally purchased in 1872 by King George I of Greece, Tatoi fell on hard times when its last owners abandoned it in 1967 shortly after a group of army colonels took control of government.

The estate was seized by the junta in 1973 along with other properties, sparking a legal challenge that was not resolved until 2002 when the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Greek state to pay €13.2 million (£9 million) to the former Royal Family.

Today, the 4,700-hectar (12acre) estate lies largely abandoned, its 37 romantic-style buildings in various degrees of disrepair. The Greek State intends to turn Tatoi into a park and establish a museum on the site, but says that restoration will require at least another five years. (AFP)

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