Archeologists Versus Metal Detectors

Archeologists are at their usual personal-freedom-limiting activities again: War erupts over metal detecting on Britain's battlefields

Detectorists argue that because of the scattered nature of material on battlefields, their method is the best way to gather the historical evidence.

So the archaeologists should let them get on with gathering thse historical items before they are plowed away.

coins circulated widely in the past

This crude counterfeit of an Abbasid dinar of the 8th or 9th century was found in northern England. It hints at how widely known such gold coins must have been in Anglo-Saxon England, some 2,500 miles away from where they were made.

China Exhibition of Recovered Stolen Cultural Relics

Shanxi holds exhibition of recovered stolen cultural relics Xinhua May 28

An exhibition featuring 4,431 recovered stolen cultural relics, mostly bronzeware from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, was held at the provincial museum of north China's Shanxi Province. The province earlier launched a campaign to crack down on the theft of ancient tombs, architecture, stone carvings, frescoes and sculptures. So far, the province has caught 296 suspects in cultural heritage-related crimes and solved 230 such cases. A total of 29 gangs were caught and 2,525 items were retrieved in Shanxi, according to the provincial public security department. Shanxi is home to 452 cultural relics sites under state-level protection and more than 28,000 ancient architectural sites -- the highest of all provincial regions. The exhibition is expected to last until August.

Once again showing the effectiveness of going after the thieves rather than collectors.

Greek Museum Guard Arrested over Stolen Artifacts

A night guard at the Archeological Museum of Santorini in Greece has allegedly been caught in possession of several items that were stolen from the museum he was supposed to be guarding, the Culture Ministry confirmed on Sunday.

Authorities said they found the man in possession of 15 clay pots dating to the 17th century BC that had been discovered at the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri, as well as three figurines (two stone and one clay) and a crystal glass object from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Ancient Thera, among other valuable artifacts. A second person has been arrested in connection with the same case, according to the police, but no details have been released regarding his or her identity or role. An investigation into the suspects’ activities is under way, though the police said that they are believed to have been active for at least a year, stealing valuable objects from the museum’s collection that are not on display and selling them on the illegal antiquities market.

and of course it is collectors which will get the blame, not the thieves.