There are two main types of confession in Europe. The criminal and the Catholic. They're usually completely unconnected but this week a remorseful thief told a priest of the weight of his actions not just on his immortal soul but on his conscience in this world, too. 

Not only did the unnamed but light-fingered character tell his padre about his crime - he (or she) asked him to return the stolen goods to their rightful owners. 

Perhaps the thief's remorse didn't quite stretch to confessing to the police. 

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These 200 or so coins date back at least 2,000 years and were discovered at the Paestum site, near Naples. 

It's thought they date back to the period the area was ruled by Greeks, before Romans later took control. 

It's unclear how the thief got their hands on the prized artefacts, or indeed why they returned them.

One theory is the clearly religious person was spooked by word of a "curse" on such treasure. The archeologist in charge of the site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said it was not the first he'd heard of such a return. 

"It's the latest restitution by someone who feels remorseful," he said in a statement.