Some Light in the Darkness

Since nobody else has noted it, I thought I'd draw attention to a succinct statement from collector David Knell on his ancient heritage blog:

Collecting and preserving pieces of the past is a natural and intelligent pursuit - and it is fortunate that we already have so many items to study and admire - but the ravenous hunger for yet more and more objects to be ripped from the ground is nowadays fueled by an increasing population, is aided by modern technology, and has escalated utterly out of control over the past two or three decades.

The importance of establishing and recording provenance to distinguish between the items already circulating years ago and those which have been dug up recently has become imperative if collectors wish to avoid contributing to the ongoing devastation of a fragile and finite resource. That resource is a heritage that in many ways belongs to all mankind and it can never be replaced.

Not that of course many collectors of portable antiquities even today really do care enough to do anything concrete about it.