The Forum

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I am only 16, but I really enjoy Archaeology Odyssey, especially the articles on Egypt and Greece. You take me places I will probably never be able to visit, even though I desperately want (and am trying hard) to become an archaeologist.

Stop the Haggling!

I have watched the lengthy, acrimonious dispute over the Elgin Marbles (“Round and Round We Go,” AO 03:03) with growing dismay. The time has come to take the matter out of the political arena and return it to the realm of common sense.

At the very least, we should dispense with several misconceptions. First, a return of the statues to their country of origin would not create a horrendous legal precedent, as some authors claim. Laws are already being struck to recover antiquities removed from their countries of origin.

The scandal of the incompetent cleaning of the Elgin Marbles by British Museum restorers is not a deep, dark state secret kept hidden from the public for decades. In the 1920s and 1930s the Anglo-American sculptor Jacob Epstein publicly pointed out the damage done to the marbles. Epstein’s complaints to the British Museum even resulted in a lengthy exchange of letters in the Times. His book Epstein: An Autobiography (1939) contained a chapter on the Elgin Marbles and reminded the world about the unfortunate cleaning.

The original statuary was squeezed into a triangular pediment below the roof of the Parthenon and was meant to be viewed from the ground, 40 feet below. Also, the marbles were originally covered with red, white, blue, green and gold paint, as was the Parthenon itself. For these reasons, debates about the cleaning and exhibition of the marbles shoot wide of the mark.

The Elgin Marbles are revered today not because of their origin, age or monetary value. They are admired as examples of the finest sculpture ever created. However, they are mere fragments, now removed from their context, of a far greater composition. To appreciate the entire work, I suggest that replicas be made of the pediments and the sculptures, and that this more complete work of art be put on display—in London and Athens. We have the technology, knowledge, materials and skills to produce accurate, detailed copies of the statuary. A combined team of Greek and British artisans could fabricate the replicas as the first step towards patching up relations between the two nations.

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Fore!

You’ll forgive a few criticisms of an article I really enjoyed (Bruce Kuklick, “‘My Life’s Shattered Work!’ The Strange Ordeal of Hermann Hilprecht,” AO 03:03). In the caption for a photograph in the article, you say Hilprecht (second from right) is holding a riding crop. He really has a golf club over his shoulder, perhaps a mashie (5 iron). The gentleman at the far left in the photo also carries a golf club (perhaps a spoon, or 3 wood). The nattily dressed gentleman in the middle, however, does appear to be holding a riding crop. Apparently, the members of the Babylonian Expedition believed in the old adage, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Don’t Forget Paul Haupt

It’s good to see an Assyriologist venture into the popular media. But I do not believe that Hermann Hilprecht was the first American Assyriologist, as your cover blurb states. If Hiplrecht arrived in the United States in 1886, he was pre-dated by Paul Haupt (1856–1926), who was working at the Johns Hopkins University by 1883. Also German-born, Haupt 011attempted to organize an expedition to Mesopotamia to compete with the Philadelphia expedition. The shenanigans involved in that project are quite curious: Interested readers might begin by looking at Jerrold Cooper’s essay, “From Mosul to Manila: Early Approaches to Funding in Ancient Near Eastern Studies Research in the United States,” in Ann Gunter’s Culture and History 11: The Construction of the Ancient Near East.

Are You Really Against Looting?

After reading the May/June 2000 column about the sale of artifacts (“AIA Does Dallas,” AO 03:03), I have to ask: Why do you accept advertising that specifically offers these very same ancient artifacts for sale?

It seems to me that the advertising in Archaeology Odyssey runs counter to the editorial position you advocate. It is an ethical issue that I would like to see you resolve.

As enticing as it is to think of owning one’s very own piece of ancient history, I would never be able to buy something that really belongs to all people. I would, however, be interested in good reproductions of certain things.

Hershel Shanks replies:

While we discourage private collecting of ancient artifacts, we also understand the desire to own these pieces. As long as it is legal to sell them and buy them, we will allow antiquities dealers to advertise. We do not regard it as unethical to purchase antiquities from an antiquities dealer.

Looted objects are an entirely different matter. Looters should be caught and jailed. The same for antiquities dealers who knowingly buy or sell looted antiquities. But putting antiquities dealers out of business—as the Archaeological Institute of America would like to do—will not stop looting or even significantly reduce it, as we know from countries like Turkey and Egypt that have taken this route. There, looting is rampant, and without the antiquities dealers, the prices of antiquities may rise even higher. On one thing everyone can agree: The present policy of the AIA is not working.

We also object to the hypocrisy of countries like Italy that proclaim their devotion to every sherd and then allow thousands of vases to be exhumed from tombs by looters (see Hershel Shanks, “The Great MFA Expos&eacute,” AO 02:02 and “Bought on the Market,” AO 02:02)

There are ways to reduce looting, but putting antiquities dealers out of business or refusing to accept advertisements from 012antiquities dealers is not one of them. The AIA seems intent on making a point rather than making a difference. Purity, as the AIA defines it, is more important than effectiveness. Until steps are taken that can indeed make a significant difference, we regard it as hypocritical to object to advertisements from antiquities dealers.

The subject is a complicated one, which we have discussed over the years not only in this magazine but also in our sister magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review (see, for example, the following articles in Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1997: Avner Raban, “Stop the Charade: It’s Time to Sell Artifacts,” BAR 23:03 and Hershel Shanks, “First Person: Picasso and Pots,” BAR 23:03).

The Yarwhatsians

Am I seeing things or is the “whimsically shaped, 3-inch-high clay head” on the opening page of “The Yarwhosians,” AO 03:03, by Yosef Garfinkel and Michele Miller, just a little phallic? Surely, the sophisticated scientist who unearthed this and the other “limestone pebbles, schematically depicting human figures” can see that the suspiciously oblong shape of the crown on this and other heads is more than just “whimsical.” C’mon guys. Have your heads been buried in the sands of the Jordan Valley a mite too long?

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