|
Newsletter archive |
Success stories 
September 2005 Smuggled ancient relics recovered 322 ancient Peruvian artifacts were recovered in South Florida after the Broward County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that the pieces were being offered for sale. An Italian national who lives in Venezuela was arrested in Miami on smuggling charges in connection with this. The Ledger , September 26, 2005
Attempt to smuggle pharaoh´s statue failed Acting on a tip, Egyptian police stopped an attempt to smuggle a granite statue of Ramses II out of the country. The statue had been found in the Giza region by the thieves who were planning to break it into pieces to facilitate smuggling. UPI, September 15, 2005
Disputed artifacts ordered returned. All fourteen claimants are to resolve fate of the reburied items Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra ordered Hui Malama I Na Kupuna 'O Hawai'i, a native group, to retrieve eighty-three native Hawaiian artifacts it had reburied in Kawaihae Cave and bring them back to the Bishop Museum. They will be held there until their ownership can be established as fourteen native groups have made claims for them. The objects had been removed from Kawaihae Cave in the early 1900s and sold or donated to the Bishop Museum. In February 2000, the objects were given to Hui Malama for a one- year loan. At the end of the loan period, Hui Malama refused to return them. sapgar@starbulletin.com September 4, 2005 August 2005 Seven convicted in antiquities smuggling trial Abdel Karin Abu Shanab, a former director of the Egyptian government office that inspects antiquities traders, was among a group of seven people convicted of smuggling thousands of antiquities out of Egypt with certificates saying they were fakes. The convicted were part of a larger group that officials believe had stolen 57,000 artifacts from state warehouses and smuggled them abroad. Newsday, August 13, 2005.
July 2005 Hundreds of stolen relics found in northern home Hundreds of antiquities including coins and jewelry that had been stolen from archaeological sites across Israel were found in a home in Emek Hefer. The suspected thief had been under police surveillance for two months after he was seen meeting with suspected illegal antiquities dealers. The Jerusalem Pos , July 17, 2005
Australia returns stolen artifacts to Egypt Seven funeral objects dated to 664 B.C. which were among 50,000 artifacts illegally taken from Egypt two years ago, were returned to Egyptian authorities after being discovered for sale on an Australian internet auction site. More than 600 of the objects have thus far been found and returned. Reuters, July 19, 2005
The relic hunters: Vancouver software firm aids Iraq in recovering looted treasure Software developer Minisis Inc. of Vancouver, Canada is working with the Iraq National Museum to make a computerized inventory of 20,000 artifacts missing from its collections. This inventory will be posted on a website where curators and collectors can check to see if pieces they are being offered are looted goods. Vancouver Sun, July 20, 2005
Owner of "James Ossuary" under arrest-false artifact claimed Jesus had siblings Israeli police have arrested Oded Golan, owner of the so-called "James Ossuary", a forgery with an inscription linking it to a supposed brother of Jesus, and four others on charges of antiquities forgery and fraud. They are suspected of having run a sophisticated forgery ring for more than twenty years. LifeSiteNews.com, July 26, 2005
Italian police recover thousands of artifacts During a series of raids in Verona that took place in June, Italian police recovered 3,000 Roman artifacts that had been illegally excavated in Italy and Bulgaria. Five people-an Italian and four Bulgarians-are under investigation. AP, July 26, 2005
UNESCO, Cambodia sign two agreements to protect ballet and one of the Angkor temples During a visit to Cambodia, UNESCO Director General Matsuura Koichiro signed an agreement which will provide about $2.5 million to help Cambodia preserve its royal ballet and the Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom-a part of the Angkor Wat complex Xinhua, July 27, 2005 We thank the Museum Security Network Mailinglist and Cultural Property Protection Net Mailinglist for their work. |
