"Let Them Steal Our Artifacts"

Let them steal our artifacts—we do not deserve them

http://www.aawsat.net/2015/03/article55342230/opinion-let-them-steal-our-artifacts-we-do-not-deserve-them

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is the general manager of Al-Arabiya television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly magazine Al-Majalla. He is also a senior columnist in the daily newspapers Al-Madina and Al-Bilad. He has a US post-graduate degree in mass communications, and has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based in Dubai.

The destruction of priceless historical treasures in Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) proves that we do not deserve these treasures that fill our museums and lie buried beneath our sands. We in the Arab world live surrounded by a great heritage, and yet fail to understand its value both to ourselves and the rest of the world. This is why the monuments were destroyed with an ease that belied their immeasurable importance—as if they were mere obsolete toys.

In order to protect the artifacts of our ancient ancestors and those who built these civilizations, we must lend them to those who know their value and can maintain them until the day comes when we mature and can bear this historical responsibility. Only then will we have the right to ask for them back.

Neither ancient nor modern history has witnessed anything close to the barbarism and destruction that ISIS recently wrought upon the ancient site of Nimrud and the treasures of the Mosul Museum. Its militants gleefully destroyed monuments that were almost 3,000 years old. But this is, unfortunately, not a new phenomenon: extremists have previously destroyed relics in Syria, while Al-Qaeda did the same in Afghanistan, as do the fundamentalists in Libya.

This destruction takes place under the pretext that ISIS and others like it are fighting polytheism and all its various manifestations. In light of these crimes, we should reconsider our rights to our historical monuments and artifacts, and admit that we do not deserve them.

What is happening in Iraq is not a fleeting crisis. It is a deep-rooted issue that exposes us. Instead of blaming the few extremists, we must admit that we are an underdeveloped region that lives in an era of darkness and decadence due to the presence of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and similar groups that impose their will on those around them. Therefore, we cannot say that we have any rights to historical artifacts. Our duty is to smuggle these relics to other countries, where they can be preserved, looked after, and studied at the world’s most prominent museums.

We have a long history of ignorance regarding the importance and preservation of monuments and historical treasures. Earlier this year, the Egyptian Museum admitted that the beard of Tutankhamen’s golden mask, one of the greatest artifacts of all time, was broken off during what was otherwise an ordinary cleaning job. Another example is that of late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who shamelessly displayed statues of himself alongside ancient ones of the Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzar.

Late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser almost buried a whole city of relics when he decided to build the Aswan dam, and would have succeeded had foreign countries not worked to get the relics to safety. In the Arabian Peninsula, many archaeological sites and murals were destroyed because people thought they were prohibited drawings.

Fortunately for us, Western scientists and traders transferred and smuggled relics from Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and other countries. They are now preserved in the museums of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Turkey and other countries. Although many demand the return of what was stolen, some of us know that the smuggling of these relics was a good move because, frankly, we do not deserve them.

We have not yet reached a mature phase of awareness regarding the importance of ancient artifacts. We lack the ability to preserve them, and the developed scientific means to maintain, look after and study them.

Imagine if Muslim extremists came to possess great treasures such as the statue of Nefertiti, which was smuggled to Germany at the beginning of the last century, or the statue of Queen Hatshepsut, or the head of Djedefre, or the towering obelisks, or the other thousands of Egyptian relics abroad. Imagine if Babylonian artifacts, which narrate Iraqi history and are currently on show in Britain, had stayed in Iraq. We all know they would have ended up just like the monuments that ISIS so ecstatically reduced to rubble.

Fortunately for us, some four million Arabic and Islamic manuscripts are stored in Western museums and universities. Otherwise, they would have been destroyed by the madmen of ISIS, or eaten by the mice that run rampant in abandoned storehouses in Arab museums.

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COMMENTARY
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This observer does not believe that the looting or smuggling of artifacts should be in any way condoned or encouraged. However, it appears that the fundamental issues discussed in Elliot Colla's article http://www.elliottcolla.com/blog/2015/3/5/on-the-iconoclasm-of-isis
represent not only Colla's thinking, but that of some other thoughtful Arab observers.

I observed in my comments to a relevant blog post by Peter Tompa that:

     "Colla's well-reasoned and well-informed comments paint a bleak picture indeed for Western antiquarians interested in ancient civilizations located not only in modern Iraq, but also in other lands whose present-day inhabitants follow Islam, and even in some lands whose inhabitants are not Islamic. The concept that "object veneration" associated with appreciation and study of the past is regarded by many who live there as a form of idolatry, to be met with hostility or at best with indifference, is appalling. But it is probably also entirely true. As a long-time "object venerator" to whom mankind's historical and cultural heritage is of very great importance, I perceive that this analytic look at the truth gives the lie to the foundations of the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

     Those concerned about the "cultural heritage" of Iraq and other "source states" do not appear to be the many who live there, but instead the few, most of whom do not - antiquarians such as myself, archaeologists, and local elites who share little if anything with the Egyptian fellahin and their counterparts in other lands. That presents a trenchant question: if the peoples of these lands are indifferent and even hostile to their "cultural heritage," what is the point in reserving it for them to ignore, or to destroy? Would it not be far more appropriate and beneficial to mankind to allow them to disseminate it to others who would appreciate and treasure it?"

and this met with an unreasonable and offensive reaction from Warsaw, implying that I and other Western participants in the licit antiquities market saw this sad reality as an opportunity to acquire looted artifacts "and of course, from his point of view, to make as much money as they can by selling them to collectors and museums and passing the money to the suppliers of these artefacts [meaning ISIL]." The URL of that post indicated that I was viewed as supporting ISIL:

http://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-uss-dealer-dave-supports-isil.html

It is a sad state of affairs when it becomes impossible to rationally discuss a problem such as this online without anti-collecting archaeologists (waging their own  jihad against antiquities collectors) seeking to exploit the discussion as a propaganda opportunity to further their destructive aims in the name of "preserving cultural heritage."

That is in the unhappy tradition of smashing redundant pottery (not wanted for museum collections) at the end of archaeological digs, to prevent it from finding its way into the hands of collectors, or for that same reason, advocating reburying redundant antiquities (for which curated storage is no longer available).

It is time to realize that "archaeology as ideology" is not, if evaluated objectively, accomplishing anything meaningful toward the goal of "preserving cultural heritage." A broader-based, common sense approach is needed here, rather than louder, shriller, more frequent repetition of the unprovable notion that antiquities collectors (including ancient coin collectors) are responsible for its destruction.

Collectors, in reality, support preservation of artifacts and cultural heritage, however they certainly don't believe or agree that they are the cause of the problem. It seems that they are not alone in that perspective, and that knowledgeable observers in source states don't believe that either. Perhaps those who don't toe the  Archaeological Institute of America party line should be listened to for a change.

"Dealer Dave" vs. the "Warsaw Blogger"

US Antiquities Dealer Condones Buying 'Endangered' Artefacts from Middle East

http://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-uss-dealer-dave-supports-isil.html

Over in the US, dealers seem to be prone to following  James Cuno in his NYT response in suggesting that in order to "save them" from the brown-skinned folk in the unruly colonies, a more enlightened elite of "western antiquarians" should buy looted artefacts. Typical of such an attitude is Dealer Dave ("Classical Coins"), writing on the IAPN and PNG sponsored blogger's "Cultural Property Observer":

Cola's well-reasoned and well-informed comments paint a bleak picture indeed for Western antiquarians interested in ancient civilizations located not only in modern Iraq, but also in other lands whose present-day inhabitants follow Islam, and even in some lands whose inhabitants are not Islamic. The concept that "object veneration" associated with appreciation and study of the past is regarded by many who live there as a form of idolatry, to be met with hostility or at best with indifference, is appalling. But it is probably also entirely true. As a long-time "object venerator" to whom mankind's historical and cultural heritage is of very great importance, I perceive that this analytic look at the truth gives the lie to the foundations of the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

Those concerned about the "cultural heritage" of Iraq and other "source states" do not appear to be the many who live there, but instead the few, most of whom do not - antiquarians such as myself, archaeologists, and local elites who share little if anything with the Egyptian fellahin and their counterparts in other lands.  That presents a trenchant question: ifthe peoples of these lands are indifferent and even hostile to their "cultural heritage," what is the point in reserving it for them to ignore, or to destroy? Would it not be far more appropriate and beneficial to mankind to allow them to disseminate it to others who would appreciate and treasure it?

and of course, from his point of view, to make as much money as they can by selling them to collectors and museums and passing the money to the suppliers of these artefacts.

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COMMENTARY

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The URL of Barford's blog post is a classic example of slimy innuendo (and outright untruth) deceptively and knowingly presented in a manner that could hardly be more offensive or more misleading. I have made it abundantly clear that I not only do not "support ISIL," I oppose those barbaric jihadist thugs as strongly as I know how to do.

I did not say (and do not propose) that anyone should buy looted artifacts. I do not condone that, never have, and never will. I asked whether it would not be more appropriate to allow inhabitants of lands where "cultural heritage" is not valued by the mass of the people to disseminate artifacts to others who would appreciate and treasure them. There are licit ways to arrange this without "looting" and smuggling.

Finally I am getting more than a little tired of seeing snide, derogatory language such as "and of course, from his point of view, to make as much money as they can by selling them to collectors and museums and passing the money to the suppliers of these artefacts."

It has been alleged by some that Mr. Barford is either a Communist or Communist sympathizer. I have consistently rebuked such assertions, pointing out that his political affiliation is not publicly known. I will however say here that if Mr. Barford were a Communist, he could hardly write more offensively and more disdainfully regarding the sale of artifacts to collectors, which is the normal and customary process in most of the world, and has been so since long before Mr. Barford, or even archaeology itself, were conceived.

No one awards me an institutional grant or governmental salary to be a professional numismatist supplying ancient coins to collectors. I do not "feed at the public trough" as did Mr. Barford in those long ago days when he was actually (and briefly) employed as an archaeologist, and as do others who now join him in condemning collecting and trading in antiquities, including those as inoffensive as ancient coins. 

I have had to finance my business (supplying ancient coins to collectors) out of my own private resources, and it represents a huge investment. I don't earn as much (as a professional numismatist) as does a primary school teacher. There are no benefits or retirement plan. This is definitely a labor of love, and no one in his right mind would pursue it with profit being the primary motive.

Recently my esteemed friend Wayne Sayles deleted everything relating to "cultural property" from his own blog because he became utterly disgusted with seeing disgraceful insinuations and outright lies from such sources. The world is the poorer for the loss of his sagacious observations. 

This raises a trenchant question: How should an honest, ethical, law-abiding antiquarian deal with uncalled-for defamation of character and personal attacks from rabid anticollecting zealots? How can one best continue to candidly present pro-collecting views when assailed in an offensive, dishonorable manner?

Suggestions from friends and supporters (as comments) are welcomed.

More on "Knowing What You Are Talking About"

... and the opinions of one "archaeologist," who in another blog post about his "devil-worshippers" theme perhaps misunderstands Greek polytheism:

"... the coins of Thasos showing a naked satyr and a nymph do not ... represent scenes of everyday life in Thracian society for the simple reason that both satyrs and nymphs are imaginary creatures."

They weren't imaginary to the Thracians and Thasians 2500 years ago. They were instead very real.

Greek religion (and its role in the lives of those who then lived in Thrace and on the island of Thasos) is a large and deep subject. I began to understand this in my conversations with French numismatist Jean-Bruno Vigne, to whom their religious content was a significant component of his intense interest in Greek coins. In La vie des monnaies grecques he alludes to this.

Greek polytheistic religion wasn't at all about the hereafter, but about what happened to people in their daily lives, and how they perceived things and phenomena whose nature and causes they did not comprehend as we do today (after two and a half millennia of scientific progress to guide us).

To ancient Thracians and Thasians, one might perhaps not be able to see satyrs and nymphs with mere mortal vision (unless they wanted to be seen), but they were there nevertheless, and their association with the god Dionysos made them important in rituals of the Dionysaic cult. 

Dionysos was very powerful. He could drive a man mad, or incite others to tear him to pieces in their madness. He also possessed great powers over fertility: human, animal and agricultural. If a man wanted to be blessed with healthy children, abundant flocks and rich crops, it was wise to venerate Dionysos -- particularly where wine was concerned, for it was sacred to Dionysos.

Placing images of satyrs and nymphs in a Dionysaic ritual scene on coins acknowledged the ways in which Dionysos had blessed Thasos and become the divine source of its wealth. Later, the Thasians would place images of Dionysos himself on their coins.

The reality of gods, satyrs, nymphs and other beings and creatures we now think of as mythical was, of course, their presence in the minds of those who believed in them. Was that a material existence? No. Can a dialectical (or historical) materialist understand its true significance? Perhaps not.

Collectors however often go very far beyond materialism, exploring in their mind's eye what life was really like -- what people may have looked like, thought, and said to one another so long ago -- and may thus achieve visualizations bringing those ancient people back to life, enriching appreciation of our cultural heritage.

Some further resources that may aid in achieving such visualization:

Thessalonica by Harry Turtledove 

Ancient Greek Music:

on Youtube

on CD

on the WWW

Homeric Singing


Polytheism is alive today in India:

Hinduism

It's A Good Idea To Know What You Are Talking About Before You Say It

A certain "archaeologist" in Warsaw recently included the following coin image in his blog:

"Vignette: Ancient discs with devilish images for titillation of kaffir."

"kaffir" presumably here (misspelled) refers to Kafir, an Arabic term used by Muslims to describe a subset of society who have read, understood and rejected the message of the Qur'an. It is the only interpretation consistent with the title of the post, Devil-Worshippers and Ancient Art Collecting. 

It is erroneous to believe that these staters, issued by the island of Thasos (off the western coastal region of Thrace) between 435 and 404 b.c. were intended for anyone's titillation. They instead depict a religious theme - ritual abduction. Here is a better preserved example of the type:

Thasos was enriched not only by its legendary silver mines (both on the island itself and on the Thracian mainland nearby), but also by wine produced in abundance on the island, and renowned for its quality.

The Thasians were attracted to the orgiastic cult of Dionysos, both because of the great importance of wine to their society and because of their close ties to indigenous Thracian tribes. Mt. Nysa in Thrace is one legendary site of his infancy (Dio-Nysos, god of Nysa) and Thracian tribes then practiced ritual abduction as part of their marriage ceremonies, as well as in other aspects of their religious lives. The theme of ritual abduction in rural marriage customs did not end with the passing of antiquity, but continued in some areas of Thrace into the twentieth century.

Further online reading:
http://romanumismatics.com/articles/article/islands-off-thrace-thasos-the-humanised-satyrs/
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=satyrs%20and%20nymphs
http://www.cngcoins.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=28
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html

UPDATE 3/10/2015

The Warsaw blogger has now edited his post to substitute "kuffar" for "kaffir." His intended meaning, apparently, was "unbelievers" or "infidels." He added:
"Another one that went wa-a-a-y above the head of blinkered coineys. "it is only ritual abduction" argues  Dealer Dave, wrapped up [i]n his tiny world of self-justification. Tell that to the fundamentalists when they come for you."

Hmm ... The Warsaw blogger  is going  "wa-a-a-y above the head of" not only this observer, but just about everyone else who doesn't live in his own archaeology-centric world. 

I don't live in a "tiny" world at all, but instead in a grand, wonderful world of collectors in many nations who enrich their lives, those of their families and of their friends through appreciating and studying ancient coins and the fascinating stories they can tell connoisseurs about the societies that long ago created and used them. 

Collectors are very interesting, intelligent and inquisitive individuals, and my rewards as a professional numismatist really are not financial -- they are instead the satisfaction of helping so many fine people learn to understand and more fully appreciate the wonderful world of antiquity.

It was a fascinating world, very different from the one we live in today, much closer to nature, more spiritual and more attractive in many ways. One can literally spend a lifetime learning about it, as the great A. H. M. Jones did, and never learn it all. 

To the studious, contemplative mind, the pleasure of learning is only equaled by the consequent pleasure of sharing this knowledge by helping others to learn.

Storage Wars

Storage Wars: Solving the Archaeological Curation Crisis?

https://www.academia.edu/11326935/FORUM_Storage_Wars_Solving
_the_Archaeological_Curation_Crisis

JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIES

VOL. 3 NO. 1 2015

ARTICLES

1    The Palace versus the Home: Social Status and Zooarchaeology at Tušḫan (Ziyaret Tepe), a Neo-Assyrian Administrative Provincial Capital in Southeastern Turkey
Tina L. Greenfield

27    Ancient Greek Deathscapes
Nikolas Dimakis

FORUM

42    Storage Wars: Solving the Archaeological Curation Crisis?
Morag M. Kersel

RESPONSES

55   Storage Wars 1, Curation 0
Raz Kletter

61   Is Every Sherd Sacred? Moving Beyond the Cultof Object-Centered Authenticity
Neil Asher Silberman

63   Building Capacity, Sharing Knowledge
Jack Green

71   Developing Strategies for Sustainably Managing Archaeological Collections
Andrew Jamieson

REJOINDER

77   An Issue of Ethics? Curation and the Obligations of Archaeology
Morag M. Kersel

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COMMENTARY

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A principal reason for the archaeological storage / curation crisis is that vast numbers of excavated artifacts and fragments thereof are continually being accumulated, and there is grossly insufficient public funding to securely store and curate all of this largely redundant archaeological material.

One constraint severely aggravating this crisis is the ethical prohibition against archaeologists selling (or in any way being involved in the sale of) artifacts. The seriousness with which this prohibition is taken seemingly compares to prohibition by the Roman Catholic Church against selling holy relics. 

If it were possible to devise a cooperative scheme whereby artifacts of minor value to science, once they have served their archaeological purpose (and if  not wanted for a reference collection), could ethically be publicly sold with provenance for the financial support of archaeology, museums and curated artifact storage, this observer believes that archaeology, museums and antiquities collectors would all significantly benefit. 

This is especially true in the case of ancient coins, whose value to archaeology is typically quite limited and transient, and whose post-excavation curation is often problematical. Very large numbers of excavated ancient bronze coins lie in boxes, buckets and similar containers in storage facilities without climate control and without any attempt being made at conservation, The result is often rapidly progressive bronze disease, which can seriously damage or destroy coins in only a few years.

This scourge (and what must be done to combat it) are discussed here:

http://www.classicalcoins.com/bronze_disease.html

Travelers Beware!

Bringing antiquities - even seemingly innocuous antiques, or coins - out of a foreign country can be dangerous: 

Turkey vacation ends in putrid prison cell

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-turkish-prison-chicago-vacation-met-20150306-story.html#page=1
By Jason Meisner
Chicago Tribune

Chicago businessman Martin O'Connor was at the tail end of a church-sponsored trip to Turkey with his wife in November when he bought a sword engraved with Arabic script at Istanbul's teeming Grand Bazaar. Inside a cramped kiosk stuffed with military memorabilia, O'Connor haggled the price down to $500.

Two days later, as he and wife Maureen were about to fly home, the couple were stopped at an airport checkpoint by Turkish police who suspected the sword was a valuable antiquity. Assured that the matter would be cleared up quickly, O'Connor persuaded his wife to board the jet and told her he'd follow on the next flight.

Instead, the financial trader spent the next eight harrowing days locked up in a filthy prison, charged with attempting to smuggle an artifact, an offense that can bring up to 12 years behind bars.

O'Connor is now safely back in the U.S., but three months after his return, the case is still playing out in Turkey, where the nation's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has appealed a court decision in January that cleared O'Connor of any wrongdoing.

"It's been hell," O'Connor, 50, told the Tribune. "I spent a fortune. I went through a nightmare, and my wife went through a nightmare not knowing what was happening with me in prison. ... And I do not expect anyone to ever say they are sorry."

The couple know they were fortunate to have had financial resources and family connections to fall back on. O'Connor's father, Edmund, was a driving force behind the creation of the Chicago Board Options Exchange in the 1970s. Maureen, an attorney who volunteers with Catholic Charities, is the sister of an Illinois state senator who was able to bring significant political pressure to bear.

After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and travel expenses, the O'Connors want their ordeal to serve as a warning to anyone vacationing in the region — particularly college-age kids with no cash or clout — that even a seemingly innocuous souvenir could land them in trouble.

"If I did not have the money, if I did not have the connections and if I didn't have a loving, hardworking, caring wife that managed it all and took care of it, I would still be in prison," O'Connor said on a recent afternoon in his town home in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. "I needed all three things."

...

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COMMENTARY

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It is difficult (and usually very expensive) to legally acquire a genuine ancient coin in countries such as Turkey, Greece or Egypt. Nearly everything offered to tourists, whether described as an ancient coin or another type of antiquity, is a reproduction. A tourist knowledgeable enough (or lucky enough) to acquire a genuine ancient coin in these countries must then get an export permit to take it home, which may be difficult and costly. Attempting to bring a coin or other antiquity home without a permit is a serious violation of the law, which can lead to the item being confiscated and perhaps even a long stay in prison. If you want an ancient coin as a memento of a trip you are taking, you will be far better off buying it from a reputable dealer such as Classical Coins.