THE Israeli Antiquities Authority said an unknown thief returned two ancient Roman projectile stones with a note saying they brought 20 years of bad fortune.

    The antiquities authority said the 2,000-year-old ballista balls, stone projectiles, were taken from the ancient Golan Heights city of Gamla in July 1995 and the thief returned the items to the Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in the city of Beersheba with a note written in Hebrew.

    “These are two Roman ballista balls from Gamla, from a residential quarter at the foot of the summit,” the note reads. “I stole them in July 1995, and since then they have brought me nothing but trouble. Please, do not steal antiquities!”

    Officials said the stones are now destined for the National Treasures Department.

    Danny Syon of the Israel Antiquities Authority welcomed the stones’ return.

    The antiquities authority said it is not unheard of for stolen treasures to be returned by remorseful thieves — a 2,000-year-old coffin was returned to the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery by a Tel Aviv man who said he had been keeping the item in his bedroom “until he realized the morbid meaning of the find.”

    (SD-Agencies)