Its easy to see why art theft has historically been pretty popular: works of art worth millions are hung up for public inspection, are highly sought after, and are lightweight and easy to conceal. While most high-profile museums now have complex security systems, there always has and indeed there may always will be both the temptation and the demand for stolen works of art. This is the story of some of the most audacious, cunning and expensive art thefts ever.

Part 6: Den of Antiquities
In 1974 in war torn northern Cyprus a priceless mosaic is chipped from the walls of a Greek orthodox church by Turkish looters. It is smuggled out of the country into the underworld of stolen antiquities and broken into pieces before being sold to the highest bidder. The highest bidder in this case was an Indianapolis art dealer, Peg Goldberg, who falls in love with the mosaics, paid $1 million for them and ships them back to the States.

But then it all went wrong. The mosaics were offered to the Getty Museum for $20 million but, unsure of the mosaics' origin, the museum reported the case to the Cypriot authorities. As a result, Goldberg was lumbered with mosaics that were virtually unsellable. Worse still, the Cypriot government threatened legal action against her to get them back.

Had Goldberg been the victim of an elaborate scam? Had she been lured to Europe and seduced into buying the beautiful mosaics by a string of dubious characters desperate to off load the plundered antiquities? This film follows the complex trail of deception that leads from the sparse hillsides of Cyprus to Munich, Geneva and Amsterdam and finally to a courtroom in America. Peg Goldberg lost her case and the mosaics she bought for a $1 million can now be seen in a museum in Nicosia.

Click here for more details on the rest of the series.