One of the artifacts stolen from the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum in 2009 has been found at an auction in Germany. The Culture and Tourism Ministry reported theft of the Roman-era colour marble relief, which is valued at around 32,000 euros in the auction, to Interpol. Following the illegal excavations there, the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum initiated…
Trading in antiquities in Israel requires a license sanctioned by the Antiquities Authority (IAA). Currently, however, only a small number of dealers are only allowed to trade items that that came into private hands prior to the year 1978. Since that time, every antiquity discovered in Israel is property of the state and cannot be…
As recently posted, the Royal-Athena Galleries, New York,had until recently a sarcophagus, which presents a battle between Greeks and Trojans (c. 200 A.D.), on sale. The gallery is owned by Dr. Jerome Eisenberg, New York, and has a more than doubtful history, since it is tighly connected with the Italian illicit antiquities dealer Gianfranco Becchina.…
Donna Yates, archaeologist in the criminology department of the University of Glasgow, starts a free online course: From fakes and fraud, to thefts and trafficking, art crime has turned archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria into “lunar landscapes”, decapitated Buddha sculptures in Cambodia and left empty frames on museum walls. So how do we protect…
A private exhibition archaeological objects by of A.L. in Olbia, Italy, rises again the discussion on who is allowed to keep and exhibit such objects.About 77 objects of Etruscan and Roman origin were found. In Italy, private persons are obliged to proof the legal ownership of the archaeological objects, and have to inform the Soprintendenza in…
Geneva’s art world suffered another blow to its reputation in November when prosecutors seized pillaged Syrian antiquities from the city’s free port, raising concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing. Now a group of art dealers, lawyers and consultants is fighting back. Under the banner of the Responsible Art Market Initiative, the group published a set of…
The University of Padoa, Italy, organises an international winter school on Anthropology of Forgery 13-17 February 2017. The schhol takes places at the University of Padoa, the Gallerie d’Italia in Vicenza, and the Palazzo Zuckermann, Padoa. You can find the program and further information here: program_winter-school_anthropology-of-forgery_2017
Europol has joined forces with law enforcement authorities from 18 countries, INTERPOL, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Customs Organization (WCO) to tackle the theft and illicit trafficking of cultural goods. Operation Pandora, as EUROPOL just noticed in a press release on January 23, 2016, was successfully led by…
La Repubblica.it and other journals informs today, January 18, 2017 that 12 persons were arrested since they were caught to be involved in plundering archaeological sites in Crotone, Calabria (Southern Italy) since years and selling their finds on the black market. The group of tombaroli was lead by numismatic prof. P. G. Attianese. With him arrested was…
On 15-16 June 2017, the Digital Archaeology Research Group and the Centre for Global Heritage and Development at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University will jointly host the 2017 annual meeting of the Centre for Digital Heritage (CDH). The theme of the CDH 2017 meeting will be Heritage under Threat. Armed conflicts are currently threatening…
EAA-Community on the Illicit Trade in Cultural Material 