LOOTED

  In this episode archaeologist Dimitri Nakassis talks about two kinds of archaeological work in southern Greece—a pedestrian survey of the countryside, and a salvage excavation of a Mycenaean cemetery. What happens when farmers plow up archaeological material? What can archaeologists learn from tombs that have been looted? What are some ways in which local people can be better connected to their heritage and thereby better protect it? We address these and other topics, including the usefulness of goats!     More to see, read, and hear: On the Western Argolid Regional Project and archaeological survey: https://westernargolid.org/ van Andel, Tjeerd H. and Runnels, Curtis N.. Beyond the Acropolis: A Rural Greek Past, Redwood City: Stanford University Press, 2022. (https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=3166). On Agia Sotira and Mycenaean tombs in general: Smith, R. Angus K., et al. Ayia Sotira: A Mycenaean Chamber Tomb Cemetery in the Nemea Valley, Greece. INSTAP Academic Press, 2017. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1v2xtrn. Murphy, Joanne M. A. Death in Late Bronze Age Greece : Variations on a Theme / Edited by Joanne M.A. Murphy (University of North Carolina Greensboro). Oxford University Press, 2020. (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/death-in-late-bronze-age-greece-9780190926069?cc=us&lang=en&).      

On the program today we tackle the big question of repatriation and the decades-long debates involving some famous antiquities returned to Italy from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: the Euphronios Krater (pictured) and the Morgantina Silver. More to see, read, and hear: On the krater: Brodie, Neil. “Euphronios (Sarpedon) Krater.” Trafficking Culture, September 6, 2012. https://traffickingculture.org/encyclopedia/case-studies/euphronios-sarpedon-krater/ Edgers, Geoff and Sofia Celeste. “Case in Italy suggests MFA received stolen art, Museum says it received no proof.” The Boston Globe, November 4, 2005.  http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/04/case_in_italy_suggests_mfa_received_stolen_art/. Hoving, Thomas. Making the Mummies Dance: Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. Kennedy, Randy and Hugh Eakin. “Met Chief, Unbowed, Defends Museum’s Role.” New York Times, February 28, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/arts/28mont.html. Silver, Vernon. The Lost Chalice. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Spivey, Nigel. The Sarpedon Krater: The Life and Afterlife of a Greek Vase. London: Head of Zeus, 2018. https://headofzeus.com/books/9781786691606. Watson, Peter and Cecilia Todeschini. The Medici Conspiracy. New York: Public Affairs, 2007. On the silver: Felch, Jason and Ralph Frammolino. Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World’s Richest Museum. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Hartcourt, 2011. The Met. “Statement by the Metropolitan Museum of Art on its Agreement with Italian Ministry of Culture.” Press, February 21, 2006. https://www.metmuseum.org/press/news/2006/statement-by-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art-on-its-agreement-with-italian-ministry-of-culture. Povoledo, Elisabetta. “A Trove of Ancient Silver Said to Be Stolen Returns to Its Home in Sicily.” The New York Times, December 5, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/arts/design/06silver.html. Singleton, Maura. “Plunder: The Theft of the Morgantina Silver.” VIRGINIA Magazine, Spring 2006. http://uvamagazine.org/articles/plunder. Steele, Chauncey D. “The Morgantina Treasure: Italy’s Quest for Repatriation of Looted Artifacts.” Suffolk Transnational Law Review 23 (July 2000):1-27. Stone, Shelley C. “Appendix 4: The Morgantina Silver Treasure.” In Morgantina Studies, Volume VI: The Hellenistic and Roman Fine Pottery, edited by Shelley C. Stone, 458-461. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015. Thomas, Suzie. “Morgantina Silver.” Trafficking Culture, November 26, 2012. http://traffickingculture.org/encyclopedia/case-studies/morgantina-silver/. On repatriation: La Follette, Laetitia. “Looted Antiquities, Art Museums and Restitution in the United States since 1970.” Journal of Contemporary History 52.3 (2017): 669–687. (Published online July 2016 by Sage Journals online at DOI: 10.1177/0022009416641198 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022009416641198). La Follette, Laetitia. “The Trial of Marion True and Changing Policies for Classical Antiquities in American Museums.” In Laetitia La Follette (ed.), Negotiating Culture: Heritage, Ownership, and Intellectual Property, 39–71. Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2013. Sites and museums: Aidone Cerveteri Morgantina   Special thanks to Emily Stegner for her work on these citations.  

Archaeologist Dr. Spencer Pope shares his thoughts on looting in Sicily, particularly at the site of Palikè, a 2400 year old town not far from Catania on Sicily’s east coast, in the fertile plains of the island’s active volcano, Mt Etna. The site has a mystical nature, considered sacred since antiquity due to the bubbling … Continue reading Episode 4: Village Pillage (“Field Notes”) →

There’s nothing like a full-bodied ancient Greek bronze nude to get the crowds to a museum. A visitor might even fall in love (speaking from personal experience—Riace Bronzes, here’s looking at you). We’ll focus on two of these very rare figures, found in US museums, but currently the subject of great debates of identification and … Continue reading Episode 3: Big Bronzes →

Marble figurines made ca. 5000 years ago in the Cycladic Islands of the Aegean became all the rage for collectors, and a great influence in Modernist Art. Easily looted and almost as easily faked, these objects have a unique role in the modern world. The question is, what was their role in the ancient world? … Continue reading Episode 2: Figure Drawing →

Listen to the story of a gold funerary wreath, looted from Northern Greece in the 1990s, smuggled into Germany, and eventually purchased by an illustrious U.S. museum. With their abundance of gold and other luxury items, the royal tombs of Macedonia in this area have been the target of looters (and archaeologists) for years. The … Continue reading Episode 1: Gold Digger →