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https://www.science.org/content/article/looted-antiquities-are-spotlight-new-digital-museum>
"Browse through the collection of the new Museum of Looted Antiquities and
you’ll find notable relics with long histories of being moved between
countries, such as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet. The clay tablet dates back 3500
years and preserves cuneiform text referring to the world’s oldest piece of
literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh. It was looted from an Iraqi museum during
the 1991 Gulf War and displayed in the Museum of the Bible until 2021, when the
tablet went back to Iraq after a legal dispute.
The tablet’s journey is front and center at the new Museum of Looted
Antiquities, which charts the travels and repatriation of some of the world’s
most iconic artifacts. Rather than walking through exhibit halls, however,
visitors click through digital collections to learn how looted artifacts are
returned to their original country or other rightful owner.
Launched in early June, the digital museum tracks repatriated artifacts to
better understand the black market of the antiquities trade, which the museum
team estimates to be worth $2.5 billion, calculated from values listed in court
documents, auction records, and other such sources. Demands for the
repatriation of stolen artifacts have increased worldwide as formerly colonized
countries confront former colonizers over past actions, and interest from law
enforcement in illegal trading grows.
The museum includes display pages on 100 artifacts, chosen for their extensive
online records and diverse backgrounds. But the real focus is the data attached
to more than 800 repatriation cases involving nearly 1 million items, including
data on active trafficking networks, looting details, and alleged smuggler
names. Researchers can contribute artifact images and information, which then
get reviewed by museum staff. The idea is for the museum to double as a
collaborative research project, says museum co-founder Jason Felch, a former
investigative journalist who reported on the antiquities market for the
Los
Angeles Times for a decade. Felch and a nonprofit he co-founded, the Achilles
Research Group, are funding the effort. Scholars and graduate students in law,
art, and heritage research have expressed interest in the data, says team
member Katherine Davidson, a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at Carleton
University. As a heritage researcher, Davidson looks at how loss of
culture—such as looting during colonialism—impacts affected communities.
Science spoke with Davidson and Felch about the museum’s potential for
research on the antiquities trade. This interview has been edited for clarity
and brevity."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
