Indiana Jones Meets Wall Street: Valuing the Past To Save Antiquity for the Future | Heritage Watch

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Indiana Jones Meets Wall Street: Valuing the Past To Save Antiquity for the Future

In April, 2008, the Milken Institute held a round-table discussion on the commercialization of antiquities and the impact that would have on the destruction of cultural heritage.

The following is taken from the Milken Institute's web site (www.milkeninstitute.org/events/gcprogram.taf) Glenn Yago opened the session, describing it as part of an ongoing discussion that began at the Milken Institute earlier in the year. "One of the key aspects to human capital is culture and history," he said, "and it's at risk." Preserving the past is a vital part of a nation's cultural heritage, but in many parts of the world, antiquities have become commodities in an illegal market that now totals $6 billion. Most of the money goes to the middlemen, he said, who may get up to a hundred times what the indigenous farmer received, who dug it out of the earth. The black market in antiquities is "stripping the world of its cultural heritage," said Yago.

The problem, he stated, is that there are few incentives to halt the trade, and even fewer resources allocated to law enforcement for antiquities recovery. Given such hurdles, the panelists looked at ways in which the private sector can work with governments, museums and private collectors to help reduce looting, monitor antiquities provenance, facilitate recovery methods, and promote and expand archaeological discovery at the same time.

Partnerships have become one of the strongest assets in halting illegal trade, said antiquities curator Karol Wright of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Collaborative partnerships had allowed her museum to utilize its greatest assets: conservation and exhibition. While maintaining that the Getty tries not to compete with other institutions having similar goals, she said, "We can offer funding, expertise and knowledge about a country's cultural heritage. And in return we can deliver antiquities for display." Change in the protection of antiquities, she said, ideally will be effected at in source countries, with local curators having a larger voice in the oversight of collections and acquisitions.

Jerry Podany, who works in the Getty's antiquities conservation department, maintained that museum acquisition policies must change to move away from ownership and toward closer collaboration. Ironically enough, Podany said, "Partnerships will make illegal trade a thing of the past."

As the discussion shifted to security measures, Yago opened the floor to Matthew Bogdanos, a Marine colonel and assistant D.A. in New York who has worked to recover thousands of treasures that have disappeared from Iraq since the war began. Bogdanos alleged that the illicit antiquities trade funds Iraqi insurgents, as well as Hezbollah militias. "Smugglers don't care what's in the box," he said of cross-border shipments. "Drugs, weapons and antiquities all travel together." In Afghanistan, the mix is often drugs and artifacts, he said, while smuggled shipments from Iraq comprise weapons and artifacts. Countries need to understand the intricacy of the trade, he said, "Yet as these antiquities travel through many destinations, it is increasingly more difficult to intercept the illegal trade." He urged governments to exert more pressure to stop the smuggling right at the source.

Most illegal antiquities pass through just four cities "Geneva, Beirut, Dubai and Amman" on their way to four major destinations: New York, London, Paris and Tokyo. That much is certain, said Bogdanos. The problem is funding for security and law enforcement. For example, "Interpol only has funding for two people (for all antiquities law enforcement) in the world." Such allocation is backward, suggested Bogdanos, adding that it seems to escape some governments that if they want to be able to exhibit their antiquities, they have to keep them within their borders.

In response to the poor site security and resources for law enforcement, Bogdanos offered several recommendations. First, countries should seize the opportunity of tragedy "museum looting or the theft of a masterwork" to leverage public awareness. And the mainstream press should beat the drum with stories that resonate in the public domain. His goal, he said, is to use public awareness to reverse the general complacency about buying and selling antiquities in back rooms.

Larry Coben, an archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed that "our global heritage is disappearing at a rapid rate, and we will have nothing left if we don’t address this problem." Coben advocated "rethinking the paradigm of site preservation" and putting a greater focus on site preservation and conservation. "Most people don’t think of site preservation," he said. "They work through a site and then leave it. But not just the object is at risk, the site is, as well."

Governments must look at archaeological excavation and site recovery in the same way they look at businesses, and recognize the economic value in their cultural heritage. And they must convey that value to those who live closest to the sites. He offered the example of an excavation he worked on in Incallajta, Bolivia. When he arrived at the site, herds grazed there, and the land was used as a soccer field. He invested just $50, built a wooden gate across the narrow road and printed tickets, one price for Bolivians, another for foreign tourists. Proceeds went to the village, and while the total profit wasn't large, he said, within a month or so, no more grazing took place and the soccer field disappeared. The local residents saw the financial value derived from the site.

Ran Boytner of the University of California, Los Angeles, suggested that people look at the dichotomy of production and consumption. Producers, he said, include archaeologists, departments of antiquities who restore artifacts, dealers and indigenous people. Consumers include museums, collectors and tourists. To help countries of origin, he recommended that countries lease objects or special collections that could generate income for their antiquities departments. He also called for closing the tax loophole that allows for write-offs of antiquities and archaeological donations to museums. This would provide a disincentive for collectors who, under current tax laws, may receive financial gain from the donation of illegally purchased artifacts. In addition, he called for an end to museum purchases, urging instead the practice of loans from source countries. The revenues from loan programs would fund enforcement, monitoring and storage costs.

Concluding the session, Hakan Tekin of the Consulate General of Turkey in Los Angeles, discussed his country's measures to secure and establish proper trade in antiquities. Tekin pointed to Turkey's rich cultural heritage and its sophisticated site security system. Turkey’s main mission is the restitution of illegally transported antiquities, he said, noting that the country does not currently endorse long-term lending programs. "We don’t see antiquities as typical merchandise," he said, the apt summation of the panel's focus.

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