A Global Antiquities Market: Ricardo Elia’s Interview with the Antiquities Coalition
January 7, 2016
Ricardo J. Elia, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Boston University, discusses the nature of the antiquities market in an interview with the Antiquities Coalition during the New York Summit. He states that the market is diffuse, with many agents involved in the illicit movement of antiquities, but that reducing the demand for stolen cultural property will have a definitive impact on the rest of the supply chain. He additionally identifies that the global nature of the antiquities market requires a cooperative effort to mitigate the trade, urging all member countries to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2199 (2015) to stop importing illicit antiquities. Elia has been a professor at Boston University since 1994, and served as Department Chair from 2007-2010 and Director of the Boston University Office of Public Archaeology from 1983-1994. He currently co-directs the Boston University Field School in Archaeology and Heritage Management in Menorca, Spain. He has published on the antiquities market, archaeological looting, and cultural heritage in conflict. Elia received his bachelor’s degree in Classics from Boston University, master’s degree in Classics from Ohio State University, and PhD in Classical Studies from Boston University.