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Showing posts with label antiquities looting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antiquities looting. Show all posts

October 6, 2011

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Top Half of Turkey's Herakles Sent from Boston's MFA to Istanbul in Prime Minister's Private Jet

Özgen Acar publishes an article in one of Turkey's largest newspapers on a subject he's covered for decades.
by Catherine Schofield Sezgin, ARCA Blog Editor-in-Chief

The rumors began last July that Boston's Museum of Fine Arts had agreed to return the top half of 'Weary Herakles' to Turkey, but the official announcement did not come until September and within a few days the Roman marble was enroute to Turkey on the Prime Minister's private jet.

Geoff Edgers, reporter for Boston's Globe, reported from Antalya on July 17th in "Making 'Herakles' whole after all these years" that after 20 years of denials the Boston museum would return the top half of the 1,800 year-old statue to Turkey.  Malcolm Bell, a University of Virginia professor quoted in the article, was also mentioned in "Chasing Aphrodite," the nonfiction book by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino.  Dr. Bell was director of the archaeological site in Morgantina in Sicily from where the 'Aphrodite' statue recently returned from the Getty.

The person who emailed me the link to Edgers' online article was Özgen Acar, the Turkish journalist who has chased down the Lydian Hoard and the Weary Herakles for decades (as featured in Sharon Waxman's book Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World).

I had met Mr. Acar in Ankara in July 2010 and he had given me copies of many of his articles, including "Turkey's War on the Illicit Antiquities Trade" (Archaeology, March/April 1995) and "The Turkish Connection: An Investigative Report on the Smuggling of Classical Antiquities" (Connoisseur, 1990). I asked Mr. Acar via email then for his response which was swift and passionate:
I’m very happy to learn that, following my discovery of the stolen Weary Heracles and related articles in 1990, yet another part of Turkey's historical heritage will be returned to Turkey. 
When my story was first published by Connoisseur Magazine, Cornelius Vermeule III [curator at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts], had made fun of me in his interview in the New York Times. 
He had said, "How can a statue have two navels?" 
He also said, that there were many Roman copies of the same type of Weary Heracles.
He added that the upper section was in the market in the mid 1950’s.
He lied twice.
 A) He had come to see the bottom piece in Antalya as a tourist; he knew the both pieces very well.
 B) He knew that the upper part had been brought to the Shelby White and Leon Levy couple in the early 1980’s.
I am not an archeologist but an investigative journalist. As the result of my investigation for many years, “The Lydian Hoard” (King Croesus Treasure), “The Elmali Hoard” (The Hoard of the Century) and many treasures were returned to Turkey.
Foreign collectors and museum officials have to respect the historical, cultural and religious heritage of every country. They belong, not only to Turkey, but to all mankind. History is beautiful where it belongs.
Mr. Acar has written about the theft of illicit antiquities out of Turkey for decades, identifying routes, naming individuals involved in the transactions, and how items were shipped and sold, including tying operators with Robert Hecht, an American antiquities dealer on trial in Italy on charges of conspiring to traffic in looted artifacts (associated with the sale of the Euphronios krater to the Met which was returned to Italy in 2009).

In 1995, Acar wrote of the archaeological museum in Antalya on Turkey's Mediterranean coast which had on display the lower half of the statue of Herakles -- "the upper half is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston" ("Turkey's War on the Illicit Antiquities Trade").  The museum also included a 'reassembled sarcophagus' which had had a piece returned by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu 'when Turkish archaeologists identified it as stolen'.  Another sarcophagus had been displayed at the Brooklyn Museum until it was returned to Turkey in 1994.

'Weary Herakles', which Acar wrote about in the same article in Archaeology magazine in 1995, is dated 170-192 AD and 'shows the tired hero leaning on his club.' The upper half of the statue was jointly owned by Leon Levy and Shelby White, New York collectors, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This is what Acar wrote then:
"In 1980 Jale Inan, director of excavations at the ancient city of Perge, northeast of Antalya, heard rumors that something important had been stolen from the site.  Later that summer, while excavating a Roman villa, Inan discovered the bottom half of the Herakles statue, as well as several other sculptures that were complete.  By 1981 the top half of the Herakles had been acquired by Levy, who gave a half-interest in the sculpture to the Boston museum.  The statue was displayed at the Metropolitan from late 1990 through early 1991 in an exhibition of White and Levy's collection titled Glories of the Past.  Turkey learned of the Levy-White Herakles from the exhibition catalogue (for which Boston's curator Cornelius Vermeule had written an entry on the statue) and from a photograph that was faxed to the Antalya Museum.  Articles in Connoisseur magazine and The New York Times showed the upper and lower halves of the statue photographically rejoined."
Although the two halves were shown to fit as early as 1995, the burden of proof was placed on Turkey to prove that the top half of Herakles had been stolen.

If you would like to read more about the return of Herakles to Turkey, you may find articles in English written here and here in Hürryet Daily News.

September 23, 2011

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Getty to Return More Items to Greece - The Aftermath of "Chasing Aphrodite"

Los Angeles - The Associate Press is reporting today that the J. Paul Getty Museum will return three Greek marbles to Greece. The "5th century B.C. works [are] two pieces of a relief sculpture from a grave marker — a third fragment of which is in a Greek museum — and a slab with an inscription related to a religious festival". It's part of the continued story of Chasing Aphrodite as reported by journalists Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino about the collection of antiquities at the "world's richest museum." The book is not just an indictment against the Getty but also the narrative of the types of pressures involved in the trade of antiquities and the changing perception of what is and isn't acceptable after the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Since writing their book, Felch and Frammolino also continue posting additional stories on their website, Chasing Aphrodite, such as the curator who was under surveillance by the FBI for alleged spying activities. Felch and Frammolino spent more than five years investigating the story then condensed the information in an easy to read and informative volume.

Here's a link to more on the story in The Los Angeles Times.

August 5, 2011

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Katharyn Hanson on “Looting at Archaeological Sites During Conflict: Iraq’s Cultural Heritage as a Case Study”

by Kirsten Hower, ARCA Intern

Katharyn Hanson is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago, concentrating her studies in Mesopotamian Archaeology. Her archaeological experience has helped her to examine the dangers that archaeological sites face and what can be done to prevent the looting and destruction of these sites. In her presentation, “Looting at Archaeological Sites During Conflict: Iraq’s Cultural Heritage as a Case Study,” Hanson examined the looting of archaeological sites in Iraq and stressed the tools with which these sites can be protected in the future.

Opening her talk with the devastation of the Iraqi National Museum, Hanson highlighted the difficulties entailed in even knowing how much has been stolen from a museum—let alone from an archaeological site. In addition, the lack of recoveries made is even more depressing than not knowing how much was lost in the first place. After opening with this sad tale, Hanson used the same basis to talk about two archaeological sites in Iraq that have been devastated by looters: Umma and Umm al Aqarib. As she stated in her presentation, “By far, the majority of artifacts stolen from Iraq come from archaeological sites.” Using aerial and satellite photos, she was able to show the extreme addition of looter’s holes to archaeological sites from 2003 to 2008. The result was depressing and mind-numbing, with an increase of nearly 5,000 or more looter’s holes at each site over the course of five years.

Hanson also stressed that certain artifacts had been recovered after being found in the presence of weapons, such as AK-47s—marking a tie between the arms market and the black antiquities market. In a really somber moment, she stated that we do not really know where these works go after they have been dug up: “We don’t have a great answer. I don’t know.” Hanson then stated what measures are out there, legally, for protecting sites, such as CIPA, Customs Enforcement, and the Hague Convention which calls for sites to be protected during wartime. However, it was pointed out that sadly, these are more measures for protecting what is looted from sites in the hopes of recovering them. Hanson brought a very somber topic to the conference, but it was certainly one worth hearing and will, hopefully, advocate more work towards protecting archaeological sites in Iraq and around the world.

August 4, 2011

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Larry Rothfield on What Museums and Archaeological Sites can to do protect themselves during times of upheaval and lessons learned from Cairo

by Jessica Graham Nielsen, ARCA Intern

Larry Rothfield, a writer-in-residence during the ARCA postgraduate program in Art and Crime Studies this year, presented his thoughts on the recent looting during the revolution in Cairo at ARCA’s International Conference in the Study of Art Crime, in Amelia, Italy, on July 10.

"The recent revolution in Egypt provided a natural experiment or stress test of the security system that normally protects antiquities, whether in museums, or on sites or remote storerooms. What can we learn from the looting of the Cairo Museum (and from storerooms and archaeological sites around the country) about how other heritage professionals could and should be planning ahead to cope with similar situations of political instability that might strike their country?"

Rothfield described the failings of security during the recent revolution in Cairo that “allow us to see important things about the structure of heritage protection.” The lack of foresight to establish a contingency plan in the wake of the Tunisian revolution essentially left the Cairo museum unguarded and allowed a mob of one thousand people to break in to the gift shop of the museum, a very few of whom were able to then penetrate the galleries and steal a small number of artifacts. Some of these looters were apprehended by citizens who formed a human chain around the museum to protect it from further thefts.

Rothfield questioned why the “Pharoah of Antiquities,” Zahi Hawass, was not better prepared for the eventuality of the looting, the timeline involving his resignation and subsequent re-instatement after Mubarak’s toppling, the inaccurate reporting on the series of events surrounding the looting, and due to some strange coincidences, whether the thefts could have possibly been an inside job. He went on to list six lessons learned:
1. Contingency plans are needed to assure the safety of museums and cultural heritage sites during times of normal security breakdown.
2. Antiquities ministries are interested in scholarship and excavations and aren’t particularly interested in site security.
3. Well-conserved sites that are not armed are not protected.
4. Sites and museums can be protected by a mobilized public and dedicated civil servants.
5. There is no substitution for police, or militarized police, in general lawlessness.
6. Tourism revenue alone will not provide locals with enough incentive to protect heritage if doing so become too dangerous.
In response to questions regarding the arming of guards he said that he did not believe in simply handing out guns and that a contingency plan, training and an “all hands on deck” approach would have prevented the little looting that did occur. He also stressed that the situation in Cairo was very different than the issues that Donny George at the Baghdad Museum faced during wartime. An article in the Guardian published during the conference discussed Mr. Rothfield’s views in more detail.

Larry Rothfield is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago, where he co-founded and directed the Cultural Policy Center from 1999-2008. He has published on a wide array of subjects in cultural policy. His last book, The Rape of Mesopotamia (University of Chicago Press, 2009) offers a behind-the-scenes look at the causes for the failure of US forces to secure the Iraq National Museum and the country's archaeological sites from looters in the wake of the 2003 invasion.

July 28, 2011

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Art Crime Writer Fabio Isman on "The Biggest Looting: an awful story that will never end" and his latest book "Il predatori dell’arte perduta: il saccheggio dell'archeologia in Italia"

Fabio Isman (Photo by Urska Charney)
by Jessica Graham Nielsen, ARCA Intern

Fabio Isman, a celebrated investigative journalist in Rome, who contributes to The Art Newspaper and writes regular columns for Il Messaggero and Arte e Dossier, took part in ARCA’s International Conference in the Study of Art Crime, in Amelia, Italy, July 9. Through an English-speaking interpreter, Mr. Isman talked passionately about the immense scope of illegal excavations, the illicit trade in Italian antiquities, and the yet unpunished main characters in a drama of tomb robbers, dealers, antiquities collectors, auction houses and the world’s major museums.

In his presentation, which he called: “The Biggest Looting: an awful story that will never end,” he shared pictures and information he found while researching his book, Il predatori dell’arte perduta: il saccheggio dell'archeologia in Italia (Raiders of the Lost Art: the Looting of Archaeology in Italy), which is the first written on the subject in Italian. He described his book as following Peter Watson’s fundamental work in The Medici Conspiracy, thanked him, and added that the depth of the issue has not been discovered until recently.
I will talk of a phenomenon: one million antiquities shipped from Italian soil from 1970 on, the most important [of which] was sold to the world’s greatest museums and big collectors…I wrote it because Italy is a great source of antiquities and I realized that few [here] are aware…
He went on to describe a story of 10,000 people, involved in the systematic looting and sale of one million illicit objects sold to 36 museums and 12 private collectors through specialist dealers from 1970 to 2004 in a business that is still ongoing – items having just come up at auction a few months ago.

Isman traced the beginning of the Grande Razzia to the Metropolitan Museum’s purchase of the illegally excavated Euphronius Krater for $1,000,000 in 1972, which made the market and established a record for an ancient object. As the market hungered for more objects, it was fed by looter/dealers Giacomo Medici and his secret depositories discovered in Geneva in 1995; four rooms filled with vases and recently excavated objects and 4,000 polaroid pictures of artifacts, some of which were already in major museum’s collections, and Gianfranco Becchina’s four warehouses discovered in Basel in 2001 containing more than $6 billion worth of antiquities. He referred to these men and other nefarious characters as “murderers of antiquities” who had scattered important objects around the world, leaving them out of context and thus “destroyed.” He underscored his words with images of a villa excavated in an unknown location at Pompei, its frescoes buried yet still intact, and those same frescoes cut into pieces so that they could be taken to Medici’s storehouses.

Isman thanked the State, and particularly Prosecutor Ferri and the Carabinieri (which increased from 16 personnel to 300 during that period) for helping to curb the flood of antiquities leaving Italy and helping many find their way back home. But he lamented that “no police dog is at the airport sniffing for ancient vases and [that] one-third of the people in prison have something to do with drugs and not one [of them is there] for illegal art.”

Mr. Isman has published 24 books, 18 of which are dedicated to art and culture in Italy.

July 23, 2011

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Annika Kuhn on “The Looting of Cultural Property: A View from Classical Antiquity”


Update: This post has been republished with corrections.

by Catherine Schofield Sezgin, ARCA Blog Editor-in-Chief

Annika B. Kuhn, currently a Fellow of the Mercator Kolleg on International Affairs (German Academic Foundation / Federal Foreign Office), conducting research on the illicit trafficking and repatriation of antiquities, presented “The Looting of Cultural Property: A View from Classical Antiquity” at ARCA’s Third International Art Crime Conference in Amelia on July 9, 2011.

Dr. Kuhn, who holds a PhD in Ancient History from the University of Oxford, discussed how the destruction and pillage of cultural property in times of war and peace reach far back in history to the Greek and Roman periods. She selected several historical examples and examined the different forms of ancient responses to the loss of significant religious and cultural artifacts, which ranged from the diplomatic negotiation of returns, the repatriation of looted property as symbolic political acts, or the restoration of the religious and cultural order by the use of replicas.

Dr Kuhn referred to cases of plunder during the Persian Wars (e.g. Xerxes’ looting of the statue group of the Tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton after the sack of Athens in 480 BCE), the capture of war booty by Roman generals and soldiers, which was displayed in the triumphal parades at Rome, as well as excessive art thefts committed by provincial governors and emperors. Thus, the Sicilian governor C. Verres, one of the earliest art thieves, conducted “forced sales” in the province and used slaves to rob residences and temples in a systematic theft of art. Verres looted statues, furniture, vases, jewelry, carpets and paintings from sites throughout Sicily. The Julio-Claudian emperors Caligula (37-41 CE) and Nero (54-68 CE) were art thieves on the throne and plundered statues to decorate the rooms of their palaces. However, Greek and Roman contemporaries not only criticized the plunder of art, but actively tried to protect or recover commemorative artifacts, and there are already antecedents of the ‘codification’ of norms to respect the inviolability of religious and cultural sites and prohibit the illicit appropriation of art.

April 4, 2011

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George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute’s Initiative To Protect Egyptian Antiquities Institute Called on Government and Law Enforcement to Act

Rahotepova tomb/Photo by Martin Frouz, FF UK (http://zpravy.idnes.cz/bohyne-poradku-opustila-egypt-pise-archeolog-barta-z-expedice-p65-/zahranicni.asp?c=A110314_084459_domaci_jw)
by Catherine Schofield Sezgin, ARCA Blog Editor-in-Chief

Two weeks ago, the George Washington University Capitol Archaeological Institute launched an initiative to protect Egyptian antiquities from illicit trade around the world, the institute announced in a press release. The institute identified specific actions that the U.S. government and international law enforcement authorities should take to help prevent the illegal trade of Egyptian antiquities. To view the call for action, and the initial signatories, please visit http://archaeology.columbian.gwu.edu/home/call-for-action-to-protect-egyptian-antiquities/.

“As an Institute located in the heart of our nation’s capital, we have a special responsibility to help ensure that issues and solutions are highlighted for policy and law makers,” said Eric Cline, director of GW’s Capitol Archaeological Institute and associate professor and chair of GW’s Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

Dr. Cline cited international reports of more than 50 antiquities stolen from the Cairo Museum alone since the political uprisings have occurred, including artifacts originally from the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The GW Capitol Archaeological Institute’s calls are consistent with U.S. obligations under the 1970 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property. On March 15, 2011, UNESCO called for international mobilization to block cultural artifacts stolen from Egypt. The institute has posted the call to action on its web page and encourages US readers to sign the online version of the petition, which can be found at http://www.gopetition.com/petition/44079.html. In brief, the GW Capitol Archaeological Institute urges the president and U.S. Congress to:
• Direct the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies to use their authority to prevent illegal trade in Egyptian cultural objects;
• Direct the Department of State and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency to implement import restrictions on undocumented artifacts from Egypt;
• Direct the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations to coordinate with foreign counterparts to initiate targeted law enforcement operations to seize stolen cultural property, arrest criminals and seize and confiscate proceeds; and
• Direct the U.S. Agency for International Development to grant additional funds for protection at archaeological sites. 
In addition, the Institute encourages the: 
• International Criminal Police Organization to use its telecommunications system with respect to possible crimes involving Egyptian cultural property and to identify suspicious financial transactions which can lead to the freezing and confiscation of proceeds; and
• U.S. Congress to designate funds for the protection of Egyptian antiquities as part of its economic aid package.
The mission of the GW Capitol Archaeological Institute includes advancing archaeological research initiatives and cultural heritage development both on land and underwater.
ARCA Blog: Via email, Dr. Cline answered a few questions for this blog. Do you believe today that archaeological sites across Egypt are still largely unprotected? We’ve all seen reports that some of the storerooms with artifacts from these sites have been broken into in the last month with priceless objects stolen.
Dr. Cline: There is no question that it has been a challenge guarding archaeological sites during the events of the last three months. We are hearted by the response of many of the Egyptian people who, on several occasions, have even risked their lives to protect these antiquities. That said, until the regular police returns in full force, combined with strong, armed tourist policy, we expect to see the looting continue.

We continue to receive information about break-ins and attacks. For example, there are reports that armed groups have been digging for ancient artifacts at the Garza archeological site in Fayoum and have broken into a storeroom at the site of Tell ed-Daba’a in the Delta as recently as this week. Here are some links, with pictures:

http://zpravy.idnes.cz/bohyne-poradku-opustila-egypt-pise-archeolog-barta-z-expedice-p65-/zahranicni.asp?c=A110314_084459_domaci_jw

http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2011/02/news_flash_detailed_report_abo_1.html

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/379337

http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/04/masked-men-attacked-storage-in-delta.html
ARCA Blog: Two weeks ago in Paris UNESCO met to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1970 Convention. How effective do you think UNESCO can be in a situation of civil unrest as in Egypt?
Dr. Cline: UNESCO has a very important role in bringing world attention to the looting not only in Egypt, but around the Middle East in this time of unrest. We look to them to play a leadership role in bringing to bear the various financial and law enforcement tools available worldwide to not only halt the looting, but strike at those willing to cooperate with the looters. 
The challenge is that we are facing an emergency situation in Egypt which requires swift and immediate action. We praise the UNESCO for sending out a delegation to examine the situation, but hope that it will bring about real results in the near term. The looting is detrimental to our common cultural heritage, but also harmful to Egypt’s largest source of revenue -- tourism.
ARCA Blog: What has been the response to your initiative from archaeologists and the government agencies named such as Homeland Security and the Department of State?
Dr. Cline: We launched our call to action to try to bring together the various parties who have an ability to halt the looting, and strike at those who might cooperate with the looters. The response from archaeologists, especially the Egyptologists to whom we have reached out, has been overwhelmingly positive. In addition, the US government has been supportive. While they are willing to work cooperatively with the Egyptian government and the archaeologists on this pressing issue, the State Department’s cultural heritage bureau can take official action only after a request from the Egyptian government. Once this occurs, which we hope will take place in the very near term, the State Department will be able to work with Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies to introduce emergency import restrictions against undocumented artifacts from Egypt.
ARCA Blog: What would you like to see happen in the next few months to secure the archaeological sites in Egypt and to stop the looting of antiquities?
Dr. Cline: Steps need to be taken to secure the archaeological sites and storerooms, and to stop the looting of antiquities as well as to prevent their subsequent sale. We believe that the Egyptian government will make protection of these sites a top priority, even during this time of transition, as it is not only a question of protecting our common heritage, but protecting Egypt’s main source of revenue -- tourism. In addition, we hope that governments around the world will use the various law enforcement tools available -- including import restrictions -- to halt the transport and sale of undocumented antiquities. Given the economic nature of this problem, any economic aid packages to Egypt should include appropriations to help protect these priceless sites. Finally, our goal is to work with the Egyptian government to set up training programs to help Egyptian law enforcement officials and others establish “best practices” in cultural heritage enforcement around the world.
ARCA Blog: What can our readers do to help?
Dr. Cline: We appreciate the wonderful support to date for our call for action. We would like to ask your US readers to sign our petition, http://www.gopetition.com/petition/44079.html, and encourage their local congressional representatives to include antiquities protection in the economic aid package for Egypt. Archaeology students in Egypt could help in assessing damage to sites and storerooms. We also appreciate receiving any information about the looting and other ways to raise public awareness of this critical challenge.

February 17, 2011

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The Journal of Art Crime: Stefano Alessandrini reviews "Ancient Art Works Recovered by the Guardia di Finanza Exhibition"

Photo of Stefano Allessandri by Urska Charney

In the fourth issue of The Journal of Art Crime, Stefano Allessandri reviews "Ancient Art Works Recovered by the Guardia di Finanza Exhibition" in Vittoriano, Rome (14 June - 12 September 2010).

The Guardia di Finanza's Archaeological Heritage Protection Group collaborated with the Ministero dei Bene Culturali (Heritage Ministry) to curate "From the Tomb to the Museum: Stories of Looting and Recoveries" last summer at the Complesso del vittoriano at Piazza Venezia in Rome. Stefano Alessandrini is head of Italy's Archaeological Group and adviser to the Ministry of Culture and the Advocate General of Italy on the recovery of looted antiquities.

To seek out this piece, and many others, consider a subscription to The Journal of Art Crime—the first peer-reviewed academic journal covering art and heritage crime. ARCA publishes two volumes annually in the Spring and Fall. Individual, Institutional, electronic and printed versions are all available, with subscriptions as low as 30 Euros. All proceeds go to ARCA's nonprofit research and education initiatives. Please see the publications page for more information.

February 14, 2011

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The Journal of Art Crime: Essayist Kim Alderman on "The Ethics of Context"

In an essay titled “The Ethics of Context: Exploring Assumptions in Discussions about the Looting of Archaeological Sites,” Kim Alderman explores “underlying assumptions in arguments that increased regulation of the antiquities trade will combat the looting crisis, thereby preserving archaeological context:”

“The essay first distinguishes between ethical and legal arguments regarding illicit excavation of archaeological materials. The essay next considers whether archaeological context is “ethically worthy” because it helps people discover their past, or whether it is simple information to be commodified. Finally, the essay compares the ethical worth of context versus the immediate, palpable needs of subsistence looters.”

Kimberly Alderman is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She recently completed the ARCA Postgraduate Program, and writes a blog: http://culturalpropertylaw.wordpress.com/.

To seek out this piece, and many others, consider a subscription to the Journal of Art Crime—the first peer-reviewed academic journal covering art and heritage crime. ARCA publishes two volumes annually in the Spring and Fall. Individual, Institutional, electronic and printed versions are all available, with subscriptions as low as 30 Euros. All proceeds go to ARCA's nonprofit research and education initiatives. Please see the publications page for more information.

February 3, 2011

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Dr. David Gill at Looting Matters Relays Messages from the Field in Egypt

David Gill is reporting on his blog Looting Matters that a former colleague of his is reporting damage to archaeological sites. You can read it here. Professor Gill notes that this report from the field is in contrast to the statements issued earlier by the government's new Minister of Culture, Dr. Zahi Hawass.

David Gill is a member of the Department of History and Classics at Swansea University, Wales. He was a Rome Scholar at the British School at Rome and a Sir James Knott Fellow at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was subsequently part of the Department of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.

National Geographic also reports Egyptian antiquities damaged. They include photos and identify objects. The interests of the majority of Egyptians intent on protecting their culture and history are threatened by the "few" looking to make money.


February 2, 2011

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Zahi Hawass provides update on status of Egypt's Museums and Archaeological Sites


Here's an update from Dr. Zahi Hawass on the current condition of Egyptian museums and archaeological sites. Dr. Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities was interviewed by Michele Norris of NPR yesterday and you can see that here. Dr. Hawass was recently appointed Minister of Antiquities, a new department in charge of the maintenance and protection of all Egyptian monuments and museums.

October 29, 2010

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Giacomo Medici's Antiquities Crime Ring Still a Presence on the Art Market


Bonhams Auction house in London sold two antiquities that had been looted by the organized crime ring run by the infamous, imprisoned Giacomo Medici. Two lots from a recent sale were part of the dossier of antiquities looted by tomb raiders on behalf of Medici, who then sold them to the world's most famous museums. Medici was arrested in 1995 and imprisoned in 2004, but the repercussions from his looting ring are still felt. Bonhams has come under scrutiny because of their failure to withdraw the two lots in question from their recent sale, despite the fact that they were notified by renowned professor of archaeology, Dr David Gill of University of Swansea. Dr Gill, an ARCA colleague both as a regular columnist and editorial board member of The Journal of Art Crime, warned Bonhams ahead of time, but the sale went through. The buyer of the two suspect lots, however, withdrew his interest when the Medici connection was made clear. ARCA lauds Dr Gill for his diligent efforts.

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