Looting the digs

Mrs. Bennett insists that the looting of the National Museum of Iraq was never a big deal, on account of all the stuff being catalogued and therefore hard to move. The real problem is the looting of digs where un-catalogued artifacts are getting ripped-off: Significant archaeological sites have been looted of tens of thousands of … Continue reading “Looting the digs”

Mrs. Bennett insists that the looting of the National Museum of Iraq was never a big deal, on account of all the stuff being catalogued and therefore hard to move. The real problem is the looting of digs where un-catalogued artifacts are getting ripped-off:

Significant archaeological sites have been looted of tens of thousands of objects since the beginning of the war in Iraq, although some of the most famous sites have escaped unscathed, American archaeologists who surveyed the country last month reported yesterday.

I don’t know how credible this latest looting charge is, but it’s probably at least partially true.