Religious Freedom in Egypt Under the Military Dictatorship

Egyptian cultural bureaucrats have pulled the excavation permit of American archaeologists from Brigham Young University because they disagree with the tenants of their Mormon faith.  This is shocking one's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) should never come into play in deciding whether to award excavation permits or not.

So, how will the US State Department, which supposedly promotes religious freedom as a core objective of American foreign policy, respond? And will the 'International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities' put even 1/10th the effort lobbying the Egyptian Government on behalf of the Brigham Young archaeologists and their religious freedom as it has lobbying the U.S. Government for "emergency import restrictions" on Egyptian cultural goods? Or, will both just shrug, and celebrate the expected announcement of the pre-judged MOU with Egypt in early  2015 as if the country was still a democracy, albeit an imperfect one? If there is any time to rethink a MOU with Egypt, its's now.

German Proposal: The Alarm Bells Should be Ringing Loud

Yet the German proposal could be “a big step,” said Neil Brodie, an antiquities expert at the Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Glasgow. “You don’t just have to prove something is not guilty, but show that it is innocent.” Do I detect the acrid aroma of:- Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer in all of this? The alarm bells should be ringing loud.

Reconstruction of the Second Temple

A brilliant Reconstruction of the Second Temple, it almost feels as if you were there under the hot sun of the Holy Land:

The Herodian version of the model shows visitors how excavators believe the Temple Mount site appeared prior to its destruction by Roman troops in the year 70 CE. The focus is on the southern portion of the enclosure, and includes reconstructions of Robinson's Arch (an early overpass linking the top of the platform with the major city street below), the Hulda Street gates and passages onto the platform, the Royal Stoa, and the Second Temple. The reconstruction is based on the excavations at the Temple Mount under the direction of Ronny Reich and regional archeologist Gideon Avni. On view at the Davidson Center,

Playing it Straight, Telling the Truth

An English archeologist (archeo-blogger/activist/researcher/journalist) at the center of the anti-collector campaign  has sought fame (if not fortune) as respected DC lawyer and collector Peter Tompa says: 

based on a hyped claim that the terrorists of ISIS made $36 million from looted antiquities in one area of Syria alone. And when that claim fell apart?  Was it time to issue a retraction and an apology to those who were attacked for questioning the claim?  Of course not. Blogging is one thing, but we should all expect more from anyone who also purports to be a "researcher" and a "journalist' and the "news outlets" that publicized this false claim.

Mr Tompa's own widely read "Cultural Property Observer" champions the pursuit of the truth and the longstanding interests of collectors in the preservation, study, display and enjoyment of cultural artifacts opposing the radical "archaeology over all" perspective found in most blogs about cultural property issues. His Web page is a public resource for general information and opinion about cultural property issues, and collectors can be sure that it can be relied upon to present the whole truth about them.  

The Portable Antiquities Scheme and Treasure Act

The English Prime Minister
has good reason to be pleased,
heritage policy is working well.

Wise words indeed from the "Ancient Coins" blog and a useful resource about The Portable Antiquities Scheme and Treasure Act.

Advocates of collectors' rights point to the cultural property laws prevailing in the United Kingdom as being the most effective approach yet devised for effectively reconciling the many disparate, often conflicting goals, interests and concerns of all those interested in discovery and ownership of antiquities. The PAS/Treasure Act scheme is very much in the British tradition of working things out in a practical, cooperative manner whenever possible -- preferably one which attracts a maximum of local interest and support -- as distinguished from a rigid, confrontational approach ending in enforcement by compulsion with significant unresolved grievances and conflicts remaining. The latter approach unfortunately prevails in most other nations.

The ISIS Scaremongering Industry

For several weeks now we have been reading articles by archeologists and journalists that have been giving their far-fetched stories undue credence about how artifact collectors in this country and Europe are allegedly "financing Islamic terrorism". We know that there is not a scrap of evidence for this.  The trade, followed by a growing number of prestigious journalists, are now questioning the entire direction of reasoning here, and the premises on which it is based. They are showing that there is a possibility that the entire "war'' on terrorist funding by antiquities sales is in error. Archeologists are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government for their research programs based on these premises, so are unlikely to be questioning them too closely. This is despite the fact that numerous  publications by individuals who have become involved in this controversy indicate the fallacies of their arguments. These dissident articles are, of course, only a tiny fraction of the remarkable outflow of texts unjustly and falsely attacking collectors for their alleged "financial support of terrorist activity".

Nevertheless, the arguments presented against the "collectors-finance-terrorism" hypothesis are sound, although they are difficult to independently evaluate.  Only further manipulation of the few facts keeps the argument alive. In part, there is a lack of direct evidence for any argument. Who has the possibility to go to the region to check for themselves what is going on? The burden of proof is on the "collectors-finance-terrorism" advocates - a burden they have not accepted in a forthright manner. Second, it is increasingly doubtful that the ongoing expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars to chase this chimera is achieving anything useful.  Furthermore, the "collectors-finance-terrorism" hypothesis  is conveniently serving as an excuse for all sorts of social engineering and public misinformation that could not be sustained without a "crisis.'' This emerging travesty indicates the dark inner workings of government and the way in which "consensus building'' has diverted thousands of dollars into the pockets of the consensus builders of the anti-collector industry.

Frau Grutters Helps US Collectors

Archaeologists with an axe to grind against collectors, together with the cultural bureaucrats of failed states and/or dictatorships like Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria are keeping up their campaign of attrition. Under the pretence of  "Stemming a Tide of Cultural Theft" they want to impose increasing, unconstitutional and crippling restrictions on the collector. This is as premediated as it is premature, failing to have twisted the evidence to prove their case. The arguments that antiquities collecting, which fosters international understanding, is in any way responsible for the war in Syria is a false one.

Not that this will in any way deter the frumpy German bureaucrat Monika Grütters, Germany's Commissioner for Culture, from proposing her draconian solution to all the world's ills. Frau Grütters has outlined plans for

a new law that would require documented provenance for any object entering or leaving Germany, long among the laxest of regulators of the art market. Among other measures, dealers would be required to show a valid export permit from the source of the piece’s origins when entering Germany.

As one informed observer points out: "It's unclear how Grütters believes German dealers and collectors are going to come up with documentation that simply does not exist for artifacts that have been traded legally for generations without such paperwork". Of course what will happen is the opposite to the intended effect. Firstly more material will be dug up in order to be brought into Germany this time with paperwork, and/or there will be massive forgery of the provenenances and papers of the objects already in the hands of dealers. Alternatively there is another possibility that is being overlooked, this new law will be a landfall for US collectors, to whom it does not apply, and more objects will become available for the US market.

How do Syria region coins enter the US and UK Markets?

An outspoken European archeoblogger who really does not deserve the attention he gets asks: "How do Syria region coins enter the US and UK Markets? "  - Er, from old collections, you know "old bean". Doh! As for  why there is  no provenance listed in the sale records, this is up to the seller, just how much to reveal about his sources.

A practical view from an Archeologist on looting

In the current anti-collector campaign conducted by archeologists with an axe to grind against collectors in cohorts with the cultural bureaucrats of failed states and/or dictatorships like Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, there is little discussion about what archeologists themselves can do to prevent looting. There are several simple steps archeologists can take that will discourage looting in places, they after all, have direct contact with the people of source countries like Syria today. Such steps include hiring site guards and paying local diggers a living wage. Such steps are already been taken by ethical archeologists in other countries (Derek Fincham, 'A practical view from an archaeologist on looting', December 10, 2014). Kathryn Morgan, a University of Pennsylvania PhD candidate and archeologist who has dug at the ancient site of Gordion in Central Turkey, asked what can be done, from an archeologist’s perspective to stem looting of sites, offered practical solutions, or at least initiatives, that would address the core of illegal activity and work to the benefit of all who have an interest in the past:

Education and economic incentives are probably the two most effective anti-looting “measures,” if they can be called measures. Education, because if people value the past for itself and think that it’s important, they don’t want to loot; and economic incentives, because if they are reliably prosperous without relying on looting, they don’t have to. Alternatively, you can try to foster the idea that an excavation itself and/or the tourism that it brings is a more sustainable long-term alternative source of income than a quick loot-and-sell operation. As far as I understand it, looting often isn’t that profitable a business for the looter: he’s giving whatever he finds to a middle man, who may be giving it to someone else, and him to someone else, until it finds a legitimate seller and a legitimate buyer who hasn’t dirtied his hands with any of the illegal activity. So, for the little guy, it’s dangerous – because looting is of course illegal – and he’s not making that much money off of it; he’s not going to do it unless he has to. If you can foster a good relationship with locals – providing them with employment opportunities, buying food for the project from within the village, some projects get students to teach English or organize pick-up soccer games with the workmen – those personal relationships are key to the long-term success of your project. But that’s kind of a warm and fuzzy answer that doesn’t deal with all of the complicated motivations that real people have in the real world. Realistically, what do we do? What can we do? The Gordion project employs a site guard year round who checks on the site. We give a map of the area to the local Jandarma, the police force, of the “most sensitive” areas archaeologically, that they need to keep an eye on. [...] the “winning hearts and minds” approach is more effective in the long run than a structural, legal response.

So why not make them a legal requirement for every archeologist excavating abroad? It's always better to tackle any problem at the source.

Tackle the Problem at the Source

Nobody knows more about the trade in stolen antiquities better than James McAndrew, a former senior special agent with Homeland Security. In a recent excellent text he warns that it is only when the countries neighbouring Syria and Iraq do more to halt the terrible destruction that progress will be made. In short, the Middle East must put its own house in order. He also debunks the notion that collectors here and in Europe are financing the terrorists and disproves the assumptions that looted Syrian material is coming here in any quantity.

On the contrary, evidence suggests that objects pillaged in Syria and Iraq predominantly remain in the region.[...]  Assistance should be given for increased border security, border enforcement, and the discovery and recovery of looted artefacts before they leave the region. Punitive measures should also be considered by Unesco if any one of the countries neighbouring the conflict refuses to assist. [...] To stop the spread of looted artefacts, action must take place at the borders of Syria and Iraq. The best example of a pro-active effort is the now well-known story of the Monuments Men (and women), recently made into a film by George Clooney. During the Second World War the Allied forces were aggressive in their pursuit of stolen works of art and antiquities. It makes sense for an international coalition to proactively encircle Syria and Iraq’s borders to intercept looted artefacts and stem the flow of the heritage of these beleaguered countries.

Why should the American collector carry the can for the mismanagement of incompetent and corrupt foreign ragheads? Let the failed nations of the Middle East get their own house in order and stop being a burden for the rest of us. What they cannot be bothered to stop at their borders however should be considered 'fair game' once it is within ours.

Complete Rubbish from the Archeologists on Stolen Antiquities

An archeologist likes to fantasize about vast treasure houses of looted antiquities in the deserts of Iraq or Syria, such ideas are merely "Fantasyland" according to trade representative Peter Tompa. Complete rubbish:

You can imagine too, can't you, the smiling Lebanese dealer shaking hands with the well-dressed man offering him some prime antiquities. The seller is an ISIL political officer, suave and well-groomed in a suit. The dealer is anticipating a good profit, he has some clients on his list (15000 people, you know) who he knows will be very interested in those Assyrian reliefs, no need to put them on open sale, he can sell directly. The coins he can shift too, to America - nobody there asks any difficult questions. Plausible? You bet. Did it happen? Could have.

Mr Tompa, a respected Washington cultural property lawyer addressed this same issue in an earlier post:

This red herring first appeared after the initial phase of the Second Gulf War in 2003-2004 to explain why a promised avalanche of  looted Iraqi antiquities never surfaced in the United States and other Western markets.  As of 2013, before the rise of ISIS, these stolen artifacts still had not appeared in quantity. Is it reasonable to assume [such]  secret facilities exist in today's Iraq and Syria?  Or, is it more reasonable to believe that no rational middle man would create such "cold storage" in a "hot war zone" where one bomb or mortar shell could easily turn a treasure house into dust.  

Most likely the archeologists themselves have got this stuff stashed away in their own private collections, caveat emptor.

Numismatic and Archeological Ethics

English heritage writer and publisher John H. Howland reports on the Cultural Property Observer blog a case of academic malpractice which deserves to be wider known

John H said... In 1982, archaeologist Ralph Pinder-Wilson, who was at that time Director of the British Institute of Afghan Studies in Kabul, was sentenced to death in Afghanistan for stealing gold coins from an excavation near Kabul. He was later reprieved and repatriated to England, where he continued to work as an archaeologist until his death in 2008. Significantly, not a single archaeologist anywhere condemned Pinder-Wilson's thieving activities. Yet, this same silent majority crawls out of the woodwork to condemn non-academic antiquity thieves, and legal collectors with monotonous regularity. Best wishes John Howland England

As that great authority and mentor on ancient coins dealer Dave Welsh said...

"When has any archaeologist publicly condemned another archaeologist for any illicit, unprofessional or immoral act? [...] the difference in how misconduct is regarded within the numismatic and archaeological disciplines certainly does not suggest that numismatists are less responsible or less ethical than archaeologists -- who notoriously remain silent whenever other archaeologists are exposed for sins against accepted standards of professional and/or social conduct". 

Yet these are the people who cast accusations at collectors and expect them to carry the can for poor stewardship of the cultural heritage by the failed raghead nations of the Middle East and beyond. Let them first get their own house in order.

Egypt Expells US Archeologists from Important Site

Somebody needs a warning.... that we
will not stand idle by while we are humiliated

The Luxor Times is reporting "Mummy Curse Strikes Again: MSA Stops BYU Mission" that the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has just stopped a US archeological mission from continuing its research at the site of Fag El Gamous in Fayoum. This site was being excavated by Brigham Young University under the direction of Egyptologist Dr. Kerry Muhlestein.

The cemetery is largely a Roman period cemetery, located in the Fayoum area of Egypt. The burials are not in tombs, but rather in a field of sand. The people in the cemetery represent the common man. They are the average people who are usually hard to learn about because they are not very visible in written sources. They were poor, yet they put a tremendous amount of their resources into providing beautiful burials.

The reason for the stopping of the mission, which has been going for 30 years, seems to be because they had made public the results of their research directly to the press, instead of going through the Egyptian ministry in the usual way demanded by Egypt's military dictatorship.

Khalifa

Today (Thursday), the ministry of antiquaries denied the “discovery of a million mummies cemetery” and made an official statement describing the published news as “rumors” and decided to stop any cooperation with the mission after the press statement were published in the Daily Mail. [...] Dr. Youssef Khalifa, head of Ancient Egypt department, said to Luxor Times on phone “What was published in the newspaper is not true. There are no million mummies [...] The mission violated the rules and regulations of the agreement with the Ministry of Antiquities concerning making press statements and that’s why the committee of the ancient Egypt department took the decision to stop their permission to work at the site after 28 years of working at the site and the last season finished last March.”[...] Dr. Youssef said “What was published was clearly stating wrong information and I think the Permanent Committee will also approve our department’s decision to stop the mission”.

This is just a scandal, after all the money and technical help this country has supplied Egypt over the years, this is how they turn round and treat us? Maybe the US State Department should make it clear that we will not be treated in this manner and threaten to cut off all aid to Egypt unless Egypt does not allow the US team back.

Gilding the Lily Archeo-style

English heritage writer John H. Howland has a point about the archeological deceits revealed recently by Peter Tompa:

When archaeologists 'gild the lily' with such things as the $36-million ISIS allegedly makes from illicit antiquities sales, then one has to ask, whether they have been economic with the truth elsewhere. In short, can we (the public) ever really trust their word or research as definitive. My position is... certainly not. Does Piltdown Man or the Hitler Diaries ring any bells with you? I hope this is clear. Best regards John Howland England

It is difficult to argue with that. Thank goodness there are people in the collecting world willing to speak out for the truth.

The Devil is in the Detail

Foxholes in use, a possibility
ignored by archeologists

A sensible suggestion from respected DC lawyer, collector and author Peter Tompa about those holes on the satellite photos. It seems the archeologists are guilty of over-interpretation:

But what of all those holes at Apamea (a site the archaeological lobby is also loath to admit is controlled by the Assad regime)?   CPO agrees satellite imagery appears to show looter's holes, but notes again reports out of Iraq after the Second Gulf War suggest all may not be what it seems.  Under the circumstances, isn't it at least possible most of holes at Apamea (and other sites like Dura Europos) were "dry," i.e., they produced little of value or that the excavations were actually for military purposes, i.e., "fox holes" for the troops of the warring factions? Or, is this again yet another case where such obvious possibilities cannot be seriously considered because they would  further undermine the archaeological lobby's efforts to encourage government decision makers to impose the "devil's proof" on collectors of ancient artifacts?

Apamea, Syria - as any citizen can see on Google Earth

Of course, anyone can see that this looks just like the scenery of "All Quiet on the Western Front" ....Just what do the archeologists think they are doing? Do they take us all for fools?

Million-Mummy Cemetery In Egypt

The excavations

For 30 years, archaeologists from Brigham Young University in Utah have been slowly excavating a massive cemetery near the town of Selia, Egypt (about 50 miles south of Cairo). The cemetery is known as Fag el-Gamous, which translates to “Way of the Water Buffalo”. It covers approximately 300 acres of land and is named after a nearby road that runs through the region. Kerry Muhlestein is an associate professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at BYU and the project’s director. Last month, Muhlstein presented the project’s findings at the annual Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities Scholars Colloquium in Toronto. “We are fairly certain we have over a million burials within this cemetery. It’s large, and it’s dense,” he said during his presentation. Many of the remains in the cemetery are dated between the 1st and 7th century A.D., a time when the northern part of Egypt was under Roman and Byzantine rule. 

Read more here.... Mbiyimoh Ghogomu, 'Archaeologists Are Unearthing A Mysterious Million-Mummy Cemetery In Egypt' the Higher Learneing,  December 17, 2014

Archeologists: "Shoot the Looters"

Peter Tompa reveals today ('They Shoot Looters, Don't They?') that incredibly they are actually debating in the archeological blogosphere whether execution is an appropriate sanction for disturbing archeological context for personal gain!

The fact that some in the archaeological lobby have supported the ultimate sanction in the past should give everyone pause. The death penalty was imposed selectively in Saddam's Iraq; while those associated with the regime apparently looted with the Dictator's blessing, others without connections forfeited their lives if caught. The same kind of selective prosecution also apparently lives on in today's Iraq, but at least no one is getting executed for looting in areas under government control. And isn't that a good thing?

As Wayne Sayles wisely comments: "Looting, in any case, should be dealt with firmly and penalties should be stiff. But summarily executing looters in one case and virtually ignoring them in another, based purely on ideological and political grounds, is a mockery of justice and a threat to civilization".  It is time these people-hating psychopaths were dealt with.

Debunking of the $36 million figure

Collectors are facing new criticisms today from the radical archeologists, followed by the international media and are unjustly being blamed for the current war in Syria. This is based entirely on the allegations by a journalist of a socialist newspaper in England that ISIS has made $36 million from looting one site alone in western Syria. That is ridiculous and trade champions have been trying to get across the truth to these people. Peter Tompa has made great efforts on our behalf: '$36 million looting figure loses further credibility'

Hopefully, anyone in the archaeological blogosphere still holding out hope that that $36 million figure for looted artifacts in one area alone has or will be "verified" or "corroborated" will read this: "So how much money is ISIL making from looted antiquities? Several media reports over the past two months put it at millions of dollars. One said ISIL had made $36m (Dh132m) alone from looting at one site in Syria. A spokesperson for Unesco’s Emergency Safeguarding of the Syrian Heritage Project also called the high figures being quoted grossly inaccurate. Desmarais [of ICOM] agrees: 'If someone gives you a number today, they are lying to you.' Brodie also questions the financial figures put on looting and has called for proper verification. “I don’t believe these figures,” he says. “In 2013, Sotheby’s New York turned over $20m in antiquities sales from the entire Mediterranean and Middle East area, so ISIL would need to be making more than Sotheby’s from one site. For another perspective, assuming found antiquities in Syria are worth $50 each (which is an optimistic estimate), ISIL would need to have found and sold 720,000 antiquities.”

No wonder government, academia and the press are held in such low regard these days. The same writer has produced additional proof that the English journalist (deliberately misled by lying Iraqi intelligence officers) got it badly wrong ('More Debunking of the $36 million figure').

Artnet news, citing German sources, has also debunked the claim that $36 million in antiquities were looted from one area in Syria. Why is this so important? - because the figure has been used to justify proposed changes in the law in both Germany and the United States that will impose the "devil's proof" on collectors of common artifacts which have been legally held for generations.

English writer John H. Howland adds a cogent comment: 

Most seriously perhaps, is that many archaeologists, on the one the hand reckon 'archaeology' is something akin to 'science' of forensic accuracy, yet, when it suits them, latch on to and promote UNPROVEN allegations as FACT. This must in my view, and I suspect others too, strongly suggest that if they are capable of such chicanery, how much reliance, even integrity, can be placed on their academic work? Presumably, some US legislators are being led by the nose up the garden path? It will be illuminating to see which US Senators and Congressmen fall for the ruse. Warm wishes John Howland England 

Putting the Parthenon Marbles into perspective

An English collector has an interesting post "Putting the Parthenon Marbles into perspective".

I do not condone what Elgin did - his 'rescue' was undoubtedly not entirely altruistic, the legality of it was tenuous, and his methods caused horrendous damage to the remaining structure - but it is perhaps unfair to judge him by the standards of today. We can only speculate on what would have happened to the sculptures if the French had got them instead or if they had remained. But if they had remained, as Mary Beard has noted: "Whatever Elgin's motives, there is no doubt at all that he saved his sculpture from worse damage." (Beard 2011) Meanwhile, the debate continues as to whether the sculptures should stay in London or now be returned to Athens ...

Thought-provoking, read more here...

Antiquity Collecting Needs to be Saved

HR 5703, a bill that purports to protect and preserve international cultural property at risk of destruction due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural and other disasters, is really a sneaky attempt to give the archaeology lobby more power. The cultural property zealots' crusade and attempts to circumvent the Law must be stopped in their tracks. Contact your representatives and remind them of this simple fact:

The United States was a participant in the 1970 UNESCO convention dealing with ownership of cultural property.  The implementing law in this country was carefully considered, debated and adjusted prior to its eventual enactment in 1983.  Consequently, CCPIA provides very clear and precise rules for government intervention in the trade of cultural property.  It is, in my opinion, a very well thought out and fair piece of legislation and remains in force today.  Because of CCPIA, unnecessary widespread restrictions on the antiquities trade have been made more difficult.  For that reason, opponents of private collecting have sought by various means to circumvent the letter and intent of the legislation.  It is worth noting that the current calls for trade restrictions or embargos seek action in the form of Executive Order rather than consideration under the prevailing law—where the public has a voice.

Treasure excavated during roadworks

A treasure trove was discovered by Hague archeologists during excavations for a new road. The treasure was found as a large clump of metal in a Roman pot. Once the clump was taken apart, it appeared to contain all kinds of items dating from the Roman period. The items include:

107 Roman silver denari dating from Nero to Marcus Aurelius
3 pairs of silver bracelets
A large silver-plated coat pin
Glass beads probably belonging to a necklace.

This treasure trove has doubled the number of Roman coins found in The Hague. It is possible that somebody buried the treasure on purpose, possibly as an offering or because of impending danger like an attack.

Government Needs Reining in

It is emerging that a State Department Cultural Heritage Center contractor faked the claim that stolen antiquities are ISIS' most important funding source after hot oil , why does the Bureau of Educational and Affairs and State Department leadership allow its own Cultural Heritage Center to engage in such shams? Archeologists seem to have the politicians in their pockets, as news broke last week that  that the archeological lobby is profiting from the ongoing tragedy in Syria by asking Congress to grant the State Department unlimited authority to enrich itself through a permanent grant program!  

What is the Evidence?

What's source of claim that IS got 'hundreds of millions of $ from smuggling antiquities out of Iraq to be sold in Turkey'?

Washington Conspirators Get their Egypt MOU

Scandalously, Egyptian sources are reporting that  a MOU will be signed in early 2015 authorizing blanket import restrictions on Egyptian cultural artifacts.  As Peter Tompa perspicaciously observes, this was obviously a "done deal"even before the Cultural Property Advisory Committee met this summer. Now the ban is coming in, discriminating against US collectors, preventing them from ever owning ancient artefacts from yet another country. This is yet more evidence, if any is needed, that MOUs are prejudged and that proceedings before CPAC are little more than a farce. We are becoming like the countries our State Department partners:

Egypt is now ruled by a military dictatorship which just ran a sham election that anointed General Sissi as Egyptian president. So, if the rule of law is important to our State Department as it is claimed, why does the Bureau of Educational and Affairs and State Department leadership allow its own Cultural Heritage Center to engage in such shams?  These kinds of shenanigans are standard operating procedure in military dictatorships like that in Egypt.  Instead of sinking to that level, our State Department-- which is so fond of lecturing others about the merits of  "Democracy" --should be providing the Egyptians with an example of what the rule of law means.

It is becoming increasingly clear to the collecting community and among the small businesses of the numismatic and antiquities trade that the Cultural Heritage Center is little more than a bureaucratic dictatorship in the service of the archaeological lobby and its crusade against collecting.  No wonder trust in government is at an all time low. 

Glasgow Academic Denies IS Claims

While our own pundits are claiming more and more ridiculous sums of money being made by IS through antiquities, they are keeping quiet about the news that a top Glasgow academic is stressing that there is no evidence that IS is receiving any money at all from antiquity sales. It is all spurious evidence.

Challenging the Crusaders' Myths

Wayne Sayles can always be counted on to expose the lies of the cultural property crusaders. In his latest post of Sunday, November 23, 2014, 'Media rush to judgement challenged', he is as hard hitting and astute as ever.

Chasing Aphrodite blogger Jason Felch surely surprised some in the world of Archaeobloggers and Cultural Property Nationalists when he recently challenged a rash of sensationalized media claims on the part of "scholars" and "experts".   The topic of this latest "meme" is the funding of terrorism and specifically of ISIS in Syria and Iraq.   A "sandstorm" of pronouncements in various media have claimed that the sale of antiquities looted by ISIS is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, second only to their revenues from looted oil.  While the evidence of ISIS looting and/or intentional destruction of cultural property is undeniable, the connection to ISIS funding through the sale of antiquities is far more spurious. That evidence is conspicuously lacking and the trade is essentially devoid of material that could conceivably have come through the hands of ISIS.  Are these calls for embargo then strictly for show?  I fear they are not.  They are part of a deliberate long term program of disinformation [...] a not-so-subtle underlying crusade that threatens the very underpinnings of law, order and justice.  

Collectors and dealers need to expose these lies and rein in the extremists that threaten our rights and the very foundations of out great nation. Stop this now.

Treasure hunter finds historic ship with metal detector off Oregon coast

CNN Wires, 'Treasure hunter finds historic ship with metal detector off Oregon coast', November 20, 2014 A man who was trying out his newly-purchased metal detector on the Oregon coast stumbled upon what might be historical artifact.

Seaside resident Ben Hidy said he was just hoping to find some coins when he ventured out to the dunes to try out his new metal detector. However, Hidy said he picked up a reading for “solid iron” and started digging. He and a friend found about 20 feet of wood with metal pieces attached to it buried under the sand. He and an archaeologist who examined it think the wood could be the keel of an old ship. Hidy said his research shows the area where he found the wood was once the tide line in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “I’m still kind of in shock about it, like it really hasn’t set in,” Hidy said. “There is still a lot more to learn about it. We’re gradually learning more every day about it. I really don’t know what to think yet. I want to be excited, but cautious. I don’t want to get too far into it.” Hidy said the archaeologist who examined the discovery will have more specific information soon, including how old the wood may be. If it’s more than 75 years old, the state will claim it as an historical artifact.

Under the Noses of IS

 

A stunning ancient Greek floor mosaic was just excavated in Zeugma, southern Turkey near the Syrian border. It is about 2200 years old and depicts the Nine Muses of Greek arts and sciences, who are said to have inspired all who engaged in those endeavors.  They were the daughters of Zeus, lord of all gods, and Mnemosyne, who represented memory. 

Speaking out

If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood

and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education,

the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence. . . . 

Such, in my opinion, is the command of the Constitution.

— Justice Louis Brandeis

Egypt's Military Dictatorship Overreach

Talk about overreach! The Luxor Times is reporting "An attempt to smuggle 3 antique coins was foiled at Cairo airport". What happened was that a traveller on his way to Dubai was stopped by the customs and the Antiquities Unit at Cairo airport, and was accused of trying to "smuggle 3 antique coins". But the photos of these "priceless antiquities, treasured cultural property of the Egyptian people" are pretty shocking

Two of the coins dated back to 1937 (2 Piasters) and 1939 (5 Piasters).(1 pound = 100 Piasters) Both coins hold the picture of King Farouk I. The third coin is 1 American dollar dated to 1789. The coin shows on one side President George Washington and the other side the Statue of Liberty. The coins were confiscated for the Ministry of Antiquities and procedures are being taken to hand the American coin to the United States embassy in Cairo as soon as possible based on the UNESCO convention.

Yes, I am sure the American people will be eternally grateful to the arabs for stopping this heinous crime and returning to the USA such valuable cultural item. Washington Dollars were the first coins to be released in the Presidential Dollar program in February 2007 - it is not stated whether the seized "precious coin" has the edge lettering or not.  Idiots.

Phil Collins donates his private collection of Alamo artifacts

 

Phil Collins donates his private collection of Alamo artifacts 

According to Reuters, the pop-rock-prog legend has donated a significant chunk of his famed Alamo artifact collection to a new museum planned for the historic tourist attraction in San Antonio, Texas. The $100 million "Phil Collins Alamo Collection" will house a number of rare items – including a rifle (one of four remaining in existence) owned by soldier-frontiersman Davy Crockett, a fringed leather pouch carried by Crockett and an original Bowie knife which Jim Bowie had in his possession during the 1836 battle between Texas settlers and the Mexican Army. "When I got older and became successful, I decided to spend my money on original items from the Alamo rather than on Ferraris," Collins joked during a news conference hosted across the street from the Alamo, in front of a temporary storage building for the items. "This completes the journey for me. . . These artifacts are coming home." Collins' collection is believed to be the largest of its kind, with over 200 total items.  

This illustrates the good that private collectors do when they preserve and display historical items in their homes. 

The former Genesis frontman isn't donating his entire collection – he plans to keep a number of items at his Switzerland home, partly because his nine-year-old son has also become interested in the Alamo. At the earlier press conference, he emphasized his plans to continue collecting, adding, "Once I've lived with whatever I buy for a month, I'll ship it over here." Collins' Alamo fascination runs so deep, he even authored the 2012 book The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey.  [....] I've bought pretty much every book ever written about the Alamo, and I talk to my friends that I've made over the past 15, 20 years. It's just a constant learning and fascinating thing for me."

Read more: Rolling Stone

Academic Fanatics at Large

The press nowadays is full of a veritable sandstorm of pronouncements claiming controversially that the sale of antiquities looted by ISIS is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, second only to their revenues from looted oil. The archaeological lobby has mounted a concerted press campaign to hype such claims in an effort to stampede the UN and national governments into establishing a world-wide ban on the international sale of antiquities.The whole campaign of the cultural property crusaders "reminds one of the yellow journalism of years gone by and appears now as a very thinly veiled attempt to criminalize the collecting of ancient coins and portable antiquities.  Those responsible for this sort of baseless vilification are really little better than the looters they decry.  Their agenda-driven ideological fervor is as irrational as it is fanatical". We must put a stop to this as it threatens  the rule of democratic law and our fundamental freedoms.

England's Portable Antiquities Scheme Reaches a Million

England's Portable antiquities Scheme has saved more than a million objects for the nation, all found by metal detectorists. A model for other nations to follow.

Understanding IS

ISIS' real target must be the Hijaz -- the seizure of Mecca and Medina -- and the legitimacy that this will confer on ISIS as the new Emirs of Arabia. (Alastair Crooke, 'Middle East Time Bomb: The Real Aim of ISIS Is to Replace the Saud Family as the New Emirs of Arabia' Huffington Post 09/02/2014).

Egyptian Military Dictatorship Botches Pyramid Restoration Work

The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara was built by the famous builder Imhotep and dates back to the 27th century BC and is 100 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza. In 2011, a British team was working to restore the structure and reportedly prevented a cave in with a huge inflatable balloon. Here is an account of the amazing project. Then funding was cut. Now (Katie Spicer, 'Ancient Egypt: World's Oldest Pyramid 'Ruined' by Restorers' International Business News, September 4, 2014), Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh Eldamaty, is under fire after rehiring a company named Shurbagy for restoration of the pyramid after the firm caused damage and major deterioration to the very same structure in an earlier botched job. Shurbagy is accused by critics of causing serious damage and the collapse of a section of the Step Pyramid. Critics add that the company had no experience in restoring archaeological sites and that all six prior contracts for archaeological projects are under investigation. However, Eldamaty just gave it a new and major contract. See Peter Tompa, 'Egyptian Military Dictatorship Botches Pyramid Restoration Work' for comment. Our hero asks:

Is the Egyptian state and its supporters in the archaeological lobby really interested in conservation or control?

But surely this is about lack of control, just like there appears to be little accountability in our own government for gross negligence, as shown by the response to the debacle over the rollout of the Obamacare website and billions wasted or lost in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Close Turkey's Border with Syria

As the nature and extent of reported looting by or under the protection ISIS/ISIL terrorists in Syria is being widely debated, excepting our man Peter Tompa, no one seems to have suggested an obvious solution to any problem:  Turkey should close its border with Syria ! Turkey's Islamist government is already facing criticism for allowing jihadists free passage to and from Syria from Turkish soil.  Turkey should deploy its army to the border to both cut off the flow of people across the line (jihadists on their way to the war zone) and confiscate any artifacts illicitly removed from Syria and arrest the smugglers. Obvious. 

The Source of the Problem

"The problem, of course, is that the State Department cultural bureaucracy and its enforcers at CBP seem more interested in scoring points with UNESCO, foreign governments and their allies in the archaeological establishment than addressing the legitimate concerns of collectors".

Peter Tompa  Thursday, August 28, 2014

Perversion of American Law by Radicals

American legislation was purposefully laced with protections against the wholesale embargo of cultural property.  With those specific protections in place, few could argue that such a carefully weighed restriction on transfer of cultural property (under the agreed conditions) would be anything but a fair and logical response.  If there are "reasonable grounds" to assume that an object came illegally out of Syria, then it should not be migrating out of Syria, even in an attempt to preserve it — an odd paradox to say the least, but that is the law (or regulation). [...]   The ancient coin collecting community respects and supports CCPIA.  Sadly, archaeologists do not.  Instead, they support the bureaucratic perversion of this law boldly criticized by a wide range of knowledgable and respected scholars and private citizens—including some who have worked within the very bureaucratic system that has perverted it. Unfortunately, the protective language against overreach in CCPIA has been stripped of its contextm by administrative procedure.  [...] Collectors represent an entire class of dedicated, capable and law abiding people who are among the world's best ambassadors for cultural understanding and tolerance.  Sadly, to many of them, the rule of law is becoming a paper tiger subject to selective enforcement and administrative nullification.  If this is indeed a sign of the times, the road ahead will a difficult journey.

More here.
 

When Egypt was a land of three faiths and one god

The British Museum in London is co-organising an exhibition next year with the State Museums Berlin about the Jewish, early Christian and Muslim communities of Egypt from the Roman to early Medieval periods. “One God: Three Religions on the Nile” will include sculpture, architectural fragments, jewellery, textiles and manuscripts from the museums’ collections together with loans from other institutions to tell the story of the three faiths in Egypt between 30BC and AD1200. The theme of politics and religion will inevitably present parallels with the Middle East today. The exhibition will chronicle the last centuries of pagan religion under Roman rule, the rise of Christianity—the dominant religion by the fifth century—and the arrival of Islam after the Arab conquest of the seventh century. At the British Museum, the exhibition is sponsored by the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

Archaeology and Dictatorship

As wild claims continue to be made about alleged connections between Western collectors and Middle Eastern terrorists, there has been far too little academic interest about the far more direct and verifiable links between dictatorships and archaeologists. Certainly, prominent American archaeologists acted as apologists for Saddam Hussein's Iraq, and more recently they also have supported a proposed import ban on cultural goods on behalf of Egypt's generals

Peter Tompa rightly argues that there is a great need for some interest in this important topic. The connection between retentionist dictatorial regimes and the archeological lobby is leading to regrettable restrictions on the ability of ordinary Americans to gain access to common historical artifacts. This in turn has also:

skewed our view of history as these regimes select what parts of the archaeological record to highlight or even erase to suit their nationalistic purposes.

Anti-Collectors Taking Advantage of a Bad Situation in Syria?

The hard-line archaeological advocacy group Saving Antiquities for Everyone and related groups are taking advantage of the current bad situation in Syria to further their anti-collecting agenda. They have been applauding the UK's new regulations aimed at banning the import of Syrian artifacts and are urging that the US impose similar restrictions on American collectors. Any such restrictions will once again put many minor artifacts at risk for forfeiture though there is no evidence they are the products of recent looting.

And what of the CPIA's process for imposing import restrictions?  Any emergency request must come from the Assad government, not SAFE or the Archaeological Institute of America.  But if there is a valid request that is granted, should any artifacts that are forfeited go back to that murderous regime or should they instead be held in trust by US Institutions for the benefit of the Syrian people until such time the country is again at peace?  Presumably, if recent history is any guide, the repatriationist instincts of SAFE and related groups will demand the return of such artifacts to Assad now, no matter the facts on the ground or the equities of the situation.  But, if so, they won't that only confirm that their ideology is more important than fairness or common sense?

For more, see Peter Tompa's CPO, 'Taking Advantage of a Bad Situation' Wednesday, August 27, 2014

England: Auctioneer Discovers Cobweb-covered Ancient Egyptian Coffin Lid Inside a Wall

A mysterious discovery has been made inside the wall of an English seaside house - the lid of an Egyptian coffin thought to date back 3,000 years. Auctioneer Stephen Drake was assessing the contents of a property after the death of its owner when he found the cobweb-covered relic. It was standing upright in the cavity of an outside wall, complete with painted face and faded hieroglyphics. Mr Drake consulted historians at Cambridge University who said the six-foot-long sarcophagus cover appeared to date from 700 BC. But how it came to reside inside the modest address which was being renovated in Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex remains a mystery.

Read more.

Alexander the Great-Era Tomb Will Soon Reveal Its Secrets

As archeologists continue to clear dirt and stone slabs from the entrance of a huge tomb in Greece, excitement is building over what excavators may find inside. The monumental burial complex — which dates back to the fourth century B.C., during the era of Alexander the Great — is enclosed by a marble wall that runs 1,600 feet (490 meters) around the perimeter. It has been quietly revealed over the last two years, during excavations at the Kasta Hill site in ancient Amphipolis in the Macedonian region of Greece. Excavators recently unearthed the grand arched entrance to the tomb, guarded by two broken but intricately carved sphinxes.

Read more  [See Photos of the Excavation's Progress]

Boy finds 10,000-year-old arrowhead on beach

A boy playing on a New Jersey beach has unearthed a 10,000-year-old arrowhead possibly used by ancient Native Americans to spear fish or hunt mastodon. Ten-year-old Noah Cordle and his family were vacationing on the Long Beach Island last week when he found it at the edge of the surf in the community of Beach Haven. It was sharp enough that it hurt as it hit his leg. He thought it was a crab until he picked up the object. The Springfield, Virginia family contacted the Archaeological Society of New Jersey to check it out.
Read more.

Scythian Gold in Limbo: The US can Help

Carol J. Williams, reporting for the Los Angeles Times ('Dutch museum perplexed over where to return borrowed Crimea goldCrimean gold artifacts' 20th August 2014) discusses a European case of clash of interests. Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum borrowed from several museums in Crimea, then in Ukraine, some ancient Scythian artifacts for an exhibition "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" which they were mounting. But that was before the territory was seized and annexed to Russia after a widely condemned independence referendum virtually held at gunpoint. Russia's claim to Crimea hasn't been recognized by any country, and its forcible change of Ukraine's border has brought international condemnation  but as yet no backing for a military reversal of Putin's fait accompli. Now that the exhibition has run its course, the museum is in a quandary, who owns Crimean gold borrowed before annexation?  

"The Allard Pierson Museum has decided (for the time being) to not make a decision as to which of the parties the disputed objects should be handed over to,” reads a museum communique issued Wednesday. The museum will abide by any ruling by a court or arbitrator, or an agreement between the Russian and Ukrainian governments, the statement says in announcing that the museum is keeping the disputed treasures in Amsterdam until then. "The disputed objects will be safely stored until more becomes clear," the museum said.

News agency RIA Novosti noted in its report on the museum's quandary that the Ukrainian government had demanded that the gold be returned to Kiev now that the peninsula is claimed by Russia.  The museum is waiting for the decision of a court or arbitrator, perhaps in the meantime the best and safest place for these objects would be in a US museum which could mediate between the two factions?
 

Serious Questions About NY District Attorney's Office's Priorities

The collector-friendly lawyer Peter Tompa has once again blown the whistle on administrative overreach (' Video Raises More Serious Questions About NY District Attorney's Office's Priorities' Cultural Property Observer Monday, August 18, 2014)

A video has surfaced raising further serious questions about the New York DA's decision to give valuable Greek coins to the Greek government rather than to a New York institution or selling them for the benefit of the New York state taxpayer [...] the interests of the New York taxpayer seem to have been entirely forgotten in favor of the interests of Bogdanos' beloved Greece, a foreign power, the Archaeological Institute of America, an organization Bogdanos favors, and their repatriationist agenda [...] put them in a room full of chalk boards, and require them to write, "I work for the New York taxpayer and their interests come first" over and over again-- maybe 200,000 times for each dollar lost to the New York Treasury.

Why has this not been Done?

The Egyptian Military Dictatorship and the archaeological community have argued that import restrictions on cultural goods are necessary to ensure Egyptian cultural artifacts are protected and studied by trained archaeologists. But, if that is so, why after almost a century has elapsed have only 30% of the 5,398 objects that trained archaeologists removed from King Tut's tomb back in the 1920's been studied? The Boy King has made the Egyptian government millions upon millions. So, there should have been plenty of money available to allocate to such an important project. 

Cultural Property Observer We'll Get to It Eventually

Prominent Collector-Dealer Relieved of his Property s.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014 Collector-Dealer Relieved of his Coins:

The US Government has repatriated several valuable coins produced in Greece millenia ago to that country as part of a plea deal agreed to by prominent collector Peter Weiss. There is no suggestion that the coins that have been repatriated were "stolen" from Greece. Rather, it appears that the only basis for their repatriation was that they were produced in ancient cities now located in that modern nation state and that they were on Dr. Weiss' person at the time of his arrest on an unrelated charge. 

The Herakles coin of Dikaia has not been in Greece for at least 150 years as Duncan Finch has pointed out. This piece previously appeared as lot 828 of the first part of the sale of the collection of Clarence Bement of Philadelphia, sold on 28 January 1924 by Naville and Co. in Lucerne, Switzerland. Previous to that, it came from the collection of Sir Hermann Weber, where it appeared as catalogue number 2354. Weber seemingly got it in the late 19th century.

 Peter Tompa asks whether this seizure of private property of not inconsiderable value and its subsequent forced repatriation is an example of "good police work" or rather of "how culture cops can and do use the threat of criminal conviction to force the repatriation of objects with little regard to concepts of private property that are supposed to be enshrined in our Constitution". And he is right.

Mr Tompa also asks what will happen to the coins themselves. I think we all may doubt that the bankrupt, modern nation state of Greece can be a better steward for their care than American collectors. 

Wine cup used by Pericles found in grave north of Athens

A cup believed to have been used by Classical Greek statesman Pericles has been found in a pauper’s grave in north Athens, according to local reports Wednesday. The ceramic wine cup, smashed in 12 pieces, was found during building construction in the northern Athens suburb of Kifissia, Ta Nea daily said. After piecing it together, archeologists were astounded to find the name “Pericles” scratched under one of its handles, alongside the names of five other men, in apparent order of seniority. Experts are “99 percent” sure that the cup was used by the Athenian statesman, as one of the other names listed, Ariphron, is that of Pericles’ elder brother.

 Read more.

Latest ISIL Culture Crime

Another site lost to Islamist fanatics bent destroying not only places venerated by Christians and Jews, but even other, fellow Muslims. Archaeo-bloggers have been publishing pictures proving that ISIL has dynamited a mosque and shrine devoted to Jonah the Prophet.  It is time the US got tough with these rag-head cavemen. But in the light of evidence like this, how can the anti-collecting ranters claim that artifacts should be repatriated to countries with people like these running around unchecked wantonly destroying everything? They are far better off safe in US collections. 

Ancient Priest’s Tomb Painting Discovered Near Great Pyramid at Giza

A wall painting, dating back over 4,300 years, has been discovered in a tomb located just east of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The painting shows vivid scenes of life, including boats sailing south on the Nile River, a bird hunting trip in a marsh and a man named Perseneb who’s shown with his wife and dog. While Giza is famous for its pyramids, the site also contains fields of tombs that sprawl to the east and west of the Great Pyramid. These tombs were created for private individuals who held varying degrees of rank and power during the Old Kingdom (2649-2150 B.C.), the age when the Giza pyramids were built.

 Read more.

What Do We Really Know about Global Warming?

"fight on – for honest science, affordable energy, accountable government, and better lives for billions of people — and against the dark forces of climate fanaticism. I also know we are being joined by more and more countries, as they increasingly understand the true nature of this ideological conflict.”

Remains of Long-Lost Temple Discovered in Iraq

Life-size human statues and column bases from a long-lost temple dedicated to a supreme god have been discovered in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. The discoveries date back over 2,500 years to the Iron Age, a time period when several groups — such as the Urartians, Assyrians and Scythians — vied for supremacy over what is now northern Iraq. "I didn’t do excavation, just archaeological soundings —the villagers uncovered these materials accidentally," said Dlshad Marf Zamua, a doctoral student at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who began the fieldwork in 2005.

 Read more.

Chinese Collectors Given Unfair Advantage

Chinese coin experts are coming to America, presumably looking for historical coins to bring back to their homeland. Why has the Archaeological Institute of America and the State Department's Cultural Heritage Center worked so hard to preclude Americans from importing the exact, same coins Chinese collectors enjoy, and now Chinese dealers are now freely exporting back into China?

More at Cultural Property Observer: Sucking Sound

Repatriation and Fundamentalism go Hand-in-hand?

Peter Tompa, a valiant defender of US and collectors' rights has an interesting piece about the relationship of retentionist restrictive repatriation cultural property laws, corrupt dictatorial foreign governments intent on persecuting US art and relic collectors and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism:

I can't but help wondering after reading Thomas Friedman's interesting opinion piece whether the "State Owns Everything" model favored by Arab Dictators inexorably leads to the "Trash the Past" model of Islamic Fundamentalists. The former have mismanaged and exploited cultural heritage for their own ends for generations. The latter recently ransacked the Malawi Museum in Egypt. And now, they are even more menacingly being embodied by the iconoclasts of ISIL. Hammer in one hand and video camera in the other, they gleefully record their work.  

More at:  Cultural Property Observer 'Two Sides of the Same Coin?

 

Archeologists' Secret Ties to Middle Eastern Dictators and Terror States?

Cultural property lawyer Peter K. Tompa makes a really good point about archeologists working in foreign countries on permits issued by dictators and states supporting terrorism:

According to the archaeological blogosphere there are links between terrorists and collectors that must be investigated. If so, CPO hopes any such investigation also explores the established but opaque links between the archaeological lobby and Middle Eastern military dictatorships like Egypt and even terror states like Saddam's Iraq, the Assad's Syria and the Mullah's Iran. Any such links are potentially far more dangerous to our own national security than a few cylinder seals in the hands of terrorists. And this is no job for Homeland Security or even the FBI. No, this is one for the CIA or perhaps even the NSA. They'll get to the bottom of all this.

Brent Benjamin for CPAC!

An observer of the Washington cultural property scene makes an appeal for a wrong to be righted ( Brent Benjamin for CPAC!):

Now that the Saint Louis Art Museum has prevailed on appeal in its long running battle to save the Ka Nefer Nefer Mummy Mask for the good people of Saint Louis, MO, its high time for President Obama to right a wrong and reseat Saint Louis Art Museum Director Brent Benjamin on CPAC.  Unfortunately, although President Bush appointed Benjamin to the post, the State Department never allowed him to serve, presumably because of pressure from the archaeological lobby and then Egyptian Antiquities Pharaoh Zahi Hawass.

It's now time to stand up to outside interference with our affairs and right this wrong. Let President Obama reappoint Benjamin to CPAC at the earliest possible opportunity.

St Louis Wins

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a decision dismissing the government's forfeiture complaint against the Ka Nefer Nefer mummy mask.  The mask is staying in the US.

Will Reason Prevail?

The efforts of the archaeological lobby in Washington in league with the Egyptian Military Dictatorship to create restrictions to US collectors having access to Egyptian antiquities are detailed in a long text by cultural property lawyer Peter K. Tompa 'CPAC Public Session on Egyptian MOU'. He represented the  International Association of Professional Numismatists and the Professional Numismatists Guild, while other dealers and collectors' representatives were there too to present out point of view. Mr Tompa's own excellent speech on behalf of coin collectors was given earlier ("Done Deal or No, Don’t Restrict Coins"). Mr Sayles of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild seems to think: "State Department MOU hearing leaves room for optimism" for collectors of coins, but what about those of us who collect other minor antiquities?