Looting Matters

Dr Christina Riggs, lecturer in Art History at the University of East Anglia (UEA), has written a comment piece on the loss of archaeological material from the Cairo Museum during the recent demonstrations ("We've been here before", THE February 24, 2011, 28). She chides the archaeological blogosphere for not commenting specifically on the protests. (At the same time, should academic blogs stray from their main purpose of commenting on archaeological material?)

Riggs makes an interesting observation:
Egyptology websites, discussion lists, even Facebook groups have circulated updates about suspected looting, and several organisations have issued statements calling for the protection of Egypt's antiquities. Ironically, such statements come on the heels of vigorous US and European rejections of Egyptian requests to repatriate objects, including some granted to foreign excavators before the 1920s.She appears to be alluding to the legal action being taken by the St Louis A…

I am grateful to my sharp-eared colleague Chris Hall for drawing my attention to this interview.

Salima Ikram, American University in Cairo, and Tom Holland, were in conversation with John Humphrys of BBC Radio 4's "Today" programme earlier today [Monday, February 21, 2011: interview]. They discussed the limited looting in the Cairo Museum and were in agreement that the people of Egypt demonstrated that they cared about the protection of their antiquities.

Humphrys explored the issue of distributing significant finds across a number of museums around the world. They considered the issue of material from Afghanistan and drew attention to the forthcoming exhibition at the British Museum.

Salima Ikram was asked what she would like to see returned to Egypt and top of her list was the head of Nefertiti in Berlin. She was also concerned to see fragmentary pieces reunited. She also made it clear that she was not speaking in an official capacity.

Tom Holland seemed to hesitate o…

I am grateful to Paul Barford for prompting me to listen to Dr Alice Roberts' analysis of the impact of metal-detecting in Britain (BBC Radio 4, broadcast Wed 16 Feb, Thurs 17 Feb 2011). The programme is available from the BBC website.

Three major finds are discussed: the Frome Hoard, the Staffordshire Hoard, and the Crosby Garrett Helmet. There is consideration of the impact of metal-detectors allowing the searching of deeper levels, as well as the "Nighthawking Report". There was an important distinction made between "treasure" and other archaeological material.

Roger Bland of the Portable Antiquities Scheme was interviewed and he noted the finite nature of the archaeological resource. He drew attention to the number of finds being recorded, but nothing was said about the apparent under-reporting among some sectors of the metal-detecting community.

The programme finished with a consideration with the situation in Ireland that takes the protection of the archae…

The St Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD). In 2008 the AAMD published "2008 Report of the AAMD Subcommittee on the Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art". Guideline G states:
If a member museum, as a result of its continuing research, gains information that establishes another party’s right to ownership of a work, the museum should bring this information to the attention of the party, and if the case warrants, initiate the return of the work to that party, as has been done in the past. In the event that a third party brings to the attention of a member museum information supporting the party’s claim to a work, the museum should respond promptly and responsibly and take whatever steps are necessary to address this claim, including, if warranted, returning the work, as has been done in the past.The Stanford Archaeology Center has published an image of the Saqqara register apparently showing the mummy mask. It …

In April 2010 Zahi Hawass "turned over to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 'all the evidence that I have to prove that this mask was stolen, and we have to bring it back'." [full story]
It now appears that the St Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is so worried about the issue that it has taken out "a civil action for declaratory relief concerning the ownership and possession of an Egyptian mummy mask known as the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer ("Mask"), an approximately 3,200 year old Egyptian cartonnage mummy/funerary mask, which was discovered in 1952, purchased by the Museum in 1998 and remains owned and possessed by the Museum." [full statement]

The "factual allegations" note that the mask was excavated at Saqqara.
In or about 1952, the Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer was discovered during an excavation of the unfinished Step Pyramid of the Third Dynasty ruler Sekhemkhet on the Saqqara necropolis. The excavator was Mohammed Zakaria Goneim (“Goneim”). W…

It appears that two of the items reported as stolen have now been found at the Cairo Museum (report from CNN).
Searchers found a heart scarab and one of 11 missing Shabti statuettes that had been reported missing Sunday, according to a statement from Zahi Hawass, Egypt's minister of antiquities.He said it appeared thieves threw the scarab outside the museum. The statuette and part of a mummy were found on the ground outside of the museum's display areas, Hawass said. See also a report in Greek.

Zahi Hawass has now issued a preliminary list of some of the items that are now known to have been looted from the Cairo Museum ("Sad news"). The highly important pieces are:


Gilded wood statue of Tutankhamun being carried by a goddessGilded wood statue of Tutankhamun harpooning. Only the torso and upper limbs of the king are missingLimestone statue of Akhenaten holding an offering tableStatue of Nefertiti making offeringsSandstone head of an Amarna princessStone statuette of a scribe from AmarnaWooden shabti statuettes from Yuya (11 pieces)Heart Scarab of YuyaThese objects are well known and documented, so they are likely to be recognised should they appear on the market or in a private collection,.

However the same may not be true for objects removed from archaeological stores.

Now we know that material has been looted, even if the scale is not yet evident, there is an urgent need for those involved in the trade in antiquities to be cautious over what they handle. They need…