“Trafficking in art and cultural heritage can be seen primarily as an activity undertaken for profit and governed by short-term objectives. However, underpinning trafficking is the notion that these objects have an intrinsic value that can ultimately be realized in financial terms, and in this regard, the illegal trafficker is equally as concerned as the most fastidious museum curator in the authenticity of the object. Yet these objects can only have value if society decides that they do, if there is a widely held belief in the importance of preserving objects from the past. The last two decades have seen an exponential growth in heritage, in both practitioners and consumers - indeed heritage has become literally an “industry”. What is it about our contemporary society that makes heritage so important to a current sense of identity? This paper will explore this issue with particular reference to recent areas of conflict and the impact on the trafficking market.”

Dr. Higgins: In my course I will look at the changing attitudes to antiquities. What we define now as trafficking was seen in previous eras as legitimate, even philanthropic. I will attempt to put our current attitudes in a historical context. That will be the easy bit! The more difficult part is to address the ethical issues of collections acquired in the past by means that today would be illegal. What do we do about those and what would be the consequences of dismantling those collections? We will hold some debates over particular case studies and hope that everyone will join in and make it a lively discussion!

Dr. Higgins: The expansion of interest in the past from different sectors of the public has thrown up some very heated debates. My research looks at the impact of this both on how we interpret the past and how our perceptions of our own history affect our attitudes today. Rome, where I live and work, is an excellent place to study these trends. The centre of Rome looks like it has stayed the same since antiquity but, in fact, it has been changed a lot by different regimes to support their political programs. I recently gave a conference paper (available on www.academia.edu/ ) on how Rome’s ancient past was drawn on by both Fascists and Rome’s Jewish population in very different ways. Wars highlight these disparities because, of course, the conflict will be seen differently depending on what side you were on. Another area of intense debate at the moment is how to deal with human remains. Many people find the way graves are dug up by archaeologists and the skeletons examined disrespectful. Archaeologists have had to fundamentally change their practice over the last decade to address public concerns.