Iraqi Family in Germany Returns Cash Hidden in Sewing Machine

Police at a Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2017. Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
Police at a Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2017. Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
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Iraqi Family in Germany Returns Cash Hidden in Sewing Machine

Police at a Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2017. Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
Police at a Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2017. Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch

An Iraqi family living in Germany were pleasantly surprised when they stumbled upon two old sewing machines by the side of the road, just as they were in need of homemade coronavirus masks.

But the real surprise was lurking inside one of the machines: 1,000 euros ($1,085) in cash, stashed there by the previous owner and forgotten about.

"We immediately called the police who tracked down the owner," 21-year-old Sherzad Ahmed told Agence France Presse Monday. "He was very, very happy."

The feelgood story happened in the small German town of Morsbach last Wednesday, local police said in a statement.

The 56-year-old owner had hidden the money in the sewing machine when he was visiting Christmas markets as a travelling salesman last year before forgetting all about the "secret hiding place", police said.

Ahmed, who came to Germany with his parents and two sisters four years ago, said they never considered keeping the cash.

"No, no, no," he laughed, adding that the owner had rewarded the honest finders with 200 euros.

Ahmed's father repaired the machines and his mother, who works in an old people's home, has been churning out masks ever since.



Remains of 5,000-year-old Noblewoman Found in Peru Dig

An ancient artifact found in a recently discovered burial site at the Aspero archaeological complex, belonging to the Caral civilization, during a press presentation at the Ministry of Culture in Lima on April 24, 2025. ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP
An ancient artifact found in a recently discovered burial site at the Aspero archaeological complex, belonging to the Caral civilization, during a press presentation at the Ministry of Culture in Lima on April 24, 2025. ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP
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Remains of 5,000-year-old Noblewoman Found in Peru Dig

An ancient artifact found in a recently discovered burial site at the Aspero archaeological complex, belonging to the Caral civilization, during a press presentation at the Ministry of Culture in Lima on April 24, 2025. ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP
An ancient artifact found in a recently discovered burial site at the Aspero archaeological complex, belonging to the Caral civilization, during a press presentation at the Ministry of Culture in Lima on April 24, 2025. ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP

Archaeologists in Peru said Thursday they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas.

"What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman," archaeologist David Palomino told AFP.

The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for over 30 years until becoming an archaeological site in the 1990s.

Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000 years BC, contained skin, part of the nails and hair and was wrapped in a shroud made of several layers of fabric and a mantle of macaw feathers.

Macaws are colorful birds that belong to the parrot family.

The woman's funerary trousseau, which was presented to reporters at the culture ministry, included a toucan's beak, a stone bowl and a straw basket.

Preliminary analyses indicate that the remains found in December belong to a woman between 20 and 35 years old who was 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, and wearing a headdress that represented her elevated social status.

Palomino told reporters the find showed that while "it was generally thought that rulers were men, or that they had more prominent roles in society" women had "played a very important role in the Caral civilization."

Caral society developed between 3000 and 1800 BC, around the same time as other great cultures in Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.

The city is situated in the fertile Supe valley, around 180 kilometers (113 miles) north of Lima and 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Pacific Ocean.

It was declared a UN World Heritage Site in 2009.