The Antiquities Coalition Warns American Heritage Is A Casualty of Government Shutdown

The Antiquities Coalition Warns American Heritage Is A Casualty of Government Shutdown

Statement Follows Reports of Looting at Gettysburg National Military Park

WASHINGTON, DC, January 22, 2018 — As the United States government shutdown enters its third day, not only is America’s future at stake, its past is, too.

Archaeological watchdogs are warning that Gettysburg National Military Park is already under attack from looters armed with metal detectors, seeking to capitalize on the federal closure, which has furloughed 90 percent of the site’s employees. If true, these reports will confirm online chatter in metal detector forums, where posters last week were eagerly anticipating a shutdown, in order to pillage historical artifacts from national battlefields, monuments, and parks. Civil War relics from bullets, to buttons, to rifle parts can fetch high prices on internet auction sites—bought by unsuspecting buyers who may not know their source is often a graveyard or battleground.

Gettysburg — where approximately 15,000 Americans lost their lives— is not only a memorial to our nation’s dead but also an irreplaceable part of our national heritage. Since 1893, the Federal government has sought to preserve it for future generations, although despite these best efforts, the site has frequently fallen victim to treasure hunters over the years. Sadly, the continuing threat faced by Gettysburg and other Civil War battlefields is shared by ancient and historic sites the world over, as thieves seek to feed the growing international market for ancient art and artifacts.

We call upon the local, state, and federal governments — as well as civic minded citizens — to protect these sites and make sure America’s history is not being sold to the highest bidder.


About the Antiquities Coalition 

The Antiquities Coalition unites a diverse group of experts in the fight against cultural racketeering: the illicit trade in antiquities by organized criminals and terrorist organizations. This plunder for profit funds crime and conflict around the world—erasing our past and threatening our future. The Coalition’s innovative and practical solutions tackle crimes against heritage head on, empowering communities and countries in crisis. Learn more at theantiquitiescoalition.org.

Contact
press@theantiquitiescoalition.org
202.798.5245 (T)

The AC Digs Into: Alabama Civil Rights Sites For Martin Luther King Day

This Martin Luther King Day it is important to reflect on our nation’s history, and the memory of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This past year, World Monuments Fund (WMF) paid homage to the importance of the Civil Rights Movement with its selection of the Alabama Civil Rights Sites, as part of their 2018 World Monuments Watch. The Antiquities Coalition’s Executive Director Tess Davis has served on the Selection Committee since 2014, and we sat down with her to talk about this year’s selections.


 

What is World Monuments Watch?

Since 1965, WMF has worked to conserve cultural sites, ranging from ancient wonders to modern masterpieces. An important aspect of this work is World Monuments Watch, a biennial listing that brings much needed attention to at-risk heritage, as well as the broader issues that threaten it. Sites are nominated by people around the globe and then narrowed down by WMF staff with guidance from a selection committee.

Over the last two decades, the Watch has helped to raise awareness for around 800 sites in 135 countries, and, it is solely responsible for the some of those sites still being here today.

What can you tell us about serving on the 2018 Selection Committee?

This is my second time serving on the Selection Committee, and it was not only a great honor, but also a great opportunity to learn more about our shared heritage and the challenges facing it from leading preservationists and other experts. Of course, there are so many deserving sites in the world, and it was hard to narrow them down. This year, in the end, the Watch included 25 different sites in over 30 countries.

Alabama Civil Rights
The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery, headquarters for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 2017. Photo: Library of Congress

 

Alabama Civil Rights
Old Ship A.M.E. Zion Church in Montgomery, a historic meeting place for black leaders, 2017. Photo: Laura Ewen Blokker, Southeast Preservation

Of the 2018 Watch’s 25 sites, one was actually a collection of places, collectively referred to as the Alabama Civil Rights Sites. Can you tell us more about these?

With this listing, World Monuments Watch has recognized specific locations across the state of Alabama where critical moments in the U.S. Civil Rights movement took place in the 1950s and 60s. These sites include museums, churches, public spaces, and private homes, some of which are already recognized landmarks, while others have yet to get the attention they deserve.

The nomination was led by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a museum and research center, with the hope that it will reinforce its important work.

Why did you, and the rest of the committee, feel it was important to include these sites on the 2018 Watch?

As an American from the South, I strongly supported the nomination of these sites, as did everyone on the committee to whom I spoke. Their inclusion will help to preserve an important chapter of history, while also having a concrete, positive impact on the local communities. Finally, given the ongoing discussion about the fate of monuments throughout the South, I think it’s important for us all to remember how diverse the South’s heritage is. I encourage everyone to learn more about these sites— and all of those on the 2018 Watch—and see them in person if you have the opportunity. We have much to learn from them and the history they represent.

See the full World Monuments Watch here.

The Antiquities Coalition Commends Manhattan District Attorney For Seizure Of Looted Artwork

WASHINGTON, DC, January 09, 2018 — The Antiquities Coalition commends Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. for the January 5 seizure of a number of Classical masterpieces from the private collection of hedge fund billionaire Michael H. Steinhardt. Search warrants allege the antiquities are the stolen property of Greece and Italy. We applaud the ongoing efforts by Mr. Vance and his team to clean up the New York art market, one of the largest unregulated markets in the world, by sending a strong signal that collectors, auction houses, and museums will be held accountable for engaging in the illicit trade.

Mr. Steinhardt is a long-time collector of ancient antiquities, who has previously—and repeatedly—faced scandals and litigation for the buying and selling of looted artworks. The pieces seized last Friday include a fifth century B.C. Greek lekythos, an oil vessel, valued at $380,000; seventh century B.C. Proto-Corinthian figures of an owl and duck valued at $250,000; an Apulian terra-cota flask in the shape of an African head; a fifth century attic aryballow (a vessel for oil or perfume); and an Ionian sculpture of a ram’s head from the six century. The search warrants estimated their overall value at approximately $1.1 million.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office recently launched a counter antiquities trafficking unit, a groundbreaking and welcome step, since the Federal Bureau of Investigations has warned it has “credible evidence” that Daesh (ISIS) looted antiquities are reaching the U.S. market. The new unit is headed by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, a Marine Colonel, who led the U.S. government’s efforts to recover priceless antiquities stolen from the Iraqi National Museum in 2003. We hope that other major markets in the United States will follow New York’s leadership by setting up similar task forces to tackle cultural racketeering, given its documented links to terrorism, transnational organized crime, and money laundering.


About the Antiquities Coalition 

The Antiquities Coalition unites a diverse group of experts in the fight against cultural racketeering: the illicit trade in antiquities by organized criminals and terrorist organizations. This plunder for profit funds crime and conflict around the world—erasing our past and threatening our future. The Coalition’s innovative and practical solutions tackle crimes against heritage head on, empowering communities and countries in crisis. Learn more at theantiquitiescoalition.org.

Contact
press@theantiquitiescoalition.org
202.798.5245 (T)