The International Trade in Antiquities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The International Trade in Antiquities - Essay Example This trade cuts across local thieves to larger international looting networks. These include auction houses in the US, Asia, Middle East and Europe. It is difficult to quantify this trade but it is estimated at four billion dollars annually. Looted antiquities are illegally moved across many borders, changing hands many times before reaching their final destination. This makes their origins very difficult to trace. These antiques end up with museums and privare collectors. Ownership history is then fictitiously given to the antiques. False documents are also made to prove authenticity of the antiquities, to give assurance that that the antiquity's origin is legitimate. Despite numerous attempts to tighten control from law enforcers worldwide, this trade continues. It is boosted by the developing technology and the advanced market. For example, the online auction sites have made controlling this trade very difficult. This paper examines the two positions. The proponents include traders and middlemen while the opponents are archaeologists, conservationists, law enforcement agencies and historians. It then evaluates the strong points in both arguments against weak ones. Proponents' position Proponents argue that trading in antiquities is economically beneficial to the local communities that are economically surviving. They further argue that placing restrictions or illegalizing this trade will not change this situation but only place it underground. Israel's case study Israel has a rich heritage in archaeology. It is however facing constant erosion by illegal excavators to meet a rising demand for these items. The antiquities authority in this country has an electronic database of more than 14,000 sites. Thousands of these sites have been eroded. The destruction has sparked a controversy in Israel between the government agencies and the traders. The authority demands a change of the law since it currently allows trading in antiquities. It has a strong belief that by outlawing this trading, the traders will be unable to operate within Israel and thefts within the archaeological sites will be stopped (Blum, 2008). The traders on the other hand maintain that by passing the law, this trade will continue but now underground as is the case in Jordan, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. The IAA established a Theft Prevention Unit in 1985 with a mandate to prevent theft from these sites and monitor the trading in these antiquities. It was granted the power to search arrest and carry out investigations for any commercial operations in the field. According to Ya'akovi, 144 people were caught illegally excavating on ancient sites in the year 1995. The IAA is also authorized to make decisions on who gets and who does not get the license to engage in this trade. Currently there are authorized dealers and their turnover adds to approximately five million dollars yearly. The Antiquities law of 1978 was very effective in nationalizing antiquities for their protection. Article 2(c) asserts that if an antiquity is found after the enforcement of this law, it will