Heartbreaking History The Illicit Antiquities Trade

The Illicit Antiquities Trade Presented By: Tina M The Illicit Antiquities Trade Presented By: Tina M. Covey PPSS 3200 Int’l Public Policy

Estimated range of illicit trade: $150M - $2B Geraldine Norman has estimated that the illicit trade in antiquities, world-wide, may be as much as $2 billion a year10; other estimates have ranged down to $150 million. As already pointed out, because the trade is clandestine, reliable data is hard to find. http://www.stanford.edu/group/chr/stealinghistory.pdf Fighting illegal international trade in cultural artifacts http://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/research/features/crimeandjusticetradeinculturalartefacts/

Illicit Antiquities Trade is 3rd in World Trade behind Drugs and Arms Trafficking / http://www.ablogabouthistory.com/2012/02/14/researchers-receive-grant-to-study-illegal-antiquities-trade http://www.savingantiquities.org/author/senta-german

The Actors Licit “Grey Market” Illicit - Archaeologists - Dealers - Looters - Curators - Retailers - Middlemen - Excavators - Smugglers - Wholesalers - Subsistence - Auction Houses Diggers - Collectors Collectors, museums, auction houses create the demand. Looters, Excavators and Subsistence Diggers find the supply, hand it off to Smugglers, Middlemen, Retailers and Dealers who move it from the Source Nation through Intermediary Nations with relaxed enforcement, on to Market Nations into the hands of Collectors, Auction Houses. Museums and legitimate Archaeologists and Researchers are increasingly out of the loop of the illicit market due to strict documentation required of them now. It’s estimated that 80-90% of antiquities that are sold through auction houses are from illicit sources. http://www.savingantiquities.org/author/damien-huffer/page/2/

Illicit Trade on a Global Scale Market Nations vs Source Nations

Unprotected sights are most vulnerable

Thieves and treasure hunters take advantage of turmoil http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/thieves-treasure-hunters-take-advantage-of-turmoil-to-prey-on-antiquities/2012/05/12/gIQATrKRKU_story.html

Further fostered by market demand for priceless and rare antiquities Illicit trade promotes and encourages looting of unprotected repositories Further fostered by market demand for priceless and rare antiquities The smuggling of stolen antiquities from Iraq’s rich cultural heritage is allegedly helping finance Iraqi extremist groups, according to the U.S. investigator who led the initial probe into the looting of Baghdad’s National Museum. Marine Reserve Col. Matthew Bogdanos claimed both Sunni insurgents such as Al Qaeda in Iraq and Shiite militias were receiving funding from trafficking.

Most Notable Antiquities Lootings in Modern History 1991: Multiple Locations in Iraq The First Gulf War 1994-2001: Kabul Museum, Kabul, Afghanistan April 9-10, 2003: National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq 28 January, 2011: Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt 16 February, 2012: Museum of the History of the Olympic Games, Olympia, Greece

Baghdad, Iraq April 9, 2003 $12 Billion Worth Lost Fall of Iraqi Government Results in Widespread Looting News of last week's looting of the Baghdad Museum has been greeted by international condemnation of US occupying forces for failing to secure Iraq's heritage sites, writes David Tresilian http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a040803museumlocked $12 Billion Worth Lost

Lost History Babylonian, Sumerian, Assyrian collections chronicling 7,000yrs of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Widespread looting in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities following Saddam's ouster in April 2003 depleted the http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352775,00.html#ixzz1ulNkUpbK

2009: Baghdad Museum reopens with most of its greatest treasures Much was returned by citizens who took it to protect it from the looters Restored Baghdad museum reopens with most of its greatest treasures http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/feb/23/iraqandthearts-iraq Http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/634/sc11.htm

Cairo and other Egyptian museums also under attack Details of looting of Cairo and other Egyptian museums http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Details-of-looting-of-Cairo-and-other-Egyptian-museums/23018 2011

Macedonian Police Seize Large Quantity of Stolen Antiquities June 27, 2010 macedonian-police-seize-large-quantity-of-ill-gotten-antiquities 2010

West Bank Looting Much of the funding of terrorist groups like Al Queda and Hezzbolah come from illicit antiquities trade, out of their own nations. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/12/palestine-antiquities/lange-text

Antiquities trade, Turkey-Cyprus Syrian Orthodox Bible http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspot.com/2009/02/antiquities-trade-turkey-cyprus-syrian.html

The J. Paul Getty Mu­se­um's icon­ic stat­ue of Aphrodite: Returned to Sicilian town of Aidone, Italy Became a symbol of American mu­se­ums' in­volve­ment in the illicit antiq­ui­ties trade. Marked an end to a con­tro­ver­sy that has wracked the mu­se­um world for the last decade. http://www.ongo.com/preview_article.php?a=953644

International Policy on Illicit Antiquities Trade 10 Major International Conventions and Provisions: address illicit antiquities acquisition, possession, exportation, distribution, sale and purchase.

Gaps in International Antiquities Policy Retroactivity Enforcibility Burden of Proof Cross-State Cooperation/Agreement Influence by Stakeholders Insufficient Definitions http://www.savingantiquities.org/repatriation-effects-greeces-national-archaeological-museum/

International NGO’s

Multimedia Exhibition about the Worldwide Illicit AntiquitiesTrade http://www.anemon.gr/history_lost.html Tour: Serbia, European Parliament, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus

Noteable Published Books on Illicit Antiquities and Art Trade

Additional Books on Illicit Antiquities and Art Trade

Blood Antiquities: In A Land Ruled by Militia, History Is For Sale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3VcA-9ztDo

“The reason I stress the terrorism aspect is that for many people, if I talk about the importance of cultural heritage, that's just white noise to them. If that argument doesn't resonate, then telling them that they can fund terrorism will. But here's another reason to stress, and that is that most of the pieces that were looted in Iraq pre-date Islam, pre-date the split between Sunni and Shia Muslims, pre-date Christianity, pre-date even Judaism. They are a potent reminder that our cultures have more in common with each other than the daily bloody headlines would suggest. Our disparate cultures have a common, fundamental root, and these objects recall that.” New York assistant district attorney and U.S. Marine Reserve Colonel Matthew Bogdanos Looting and the Antiquities Market http://www.athenapub.com/15-intro-looting.htm http://www.cultureindevelopment.nl/News/Discussing_Looting/1170/Illegal_antiquities_trade_funds_terrorism

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