Saturday 31 October 2015

Archaeologist at prominent university wishes to remain nameless when praising the Green collection.


As Lynda Albertson of ARCA cogently notes:
The article concerned suggests that "the world’s foremost collector of rare biblical artifacts, Steven Green" may have "made a deal with the devil"
helping to preserve Iraq’s disappearing Christian heritage by allegedly buying black market items plundered by the Islamic State. 
Cunies as "Christian heritage" is a new one on me.
 one U.S. archaeologist who has worked with the Greens said the family is very meticulous and ethical about acquisitions. "In my opinion the Greens would not have knowingly purchased antiquities from an unknown or suspected source," said the archaeologist, a prominent professor at a respected university who asked not to be identified. "However, the authorities are extremely sensitive about any antiquities coming into the market at this time and are critical of almost any trade or sale between the Middle East and other countries, especially with regard to well-funded private collectors such as the Greens. Therefore, they would be a prime target of investigation."
Especally if the export documents said what they are reported to have said. Would the "prominent" professor at a "respected university" have said the same if he or she had seen those documents and found out that the reports are true? Have they seen the documents in question, and if so, how do they explain them away?
Others called Hobby Lobby’s reported claim that the tablets were hand-crafted “tiles” worth just $300 a piece “ludicrous.” The tablets could be worth anywhere from $2,000 to $30,000 each, according to Amr Al-Azm, an associate professor Middle East History and Anthropology in the Department of Social Sciences at Shawnee State University. And calling the tablets “tiles” is comparable to labeling ancient books as tiles, because they are both square shaped, said Eric Meyers, an archaeologist and director of the graduate program in religion at Duke University. [...] Under Iraqi law, cultural heritage is the property of the state, with antiquities recognized as "national treasures” and anyone who removes them from the country is a thief.



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