The money which people are prepared to pay out no-questions-asked to purchase antiquities is clearly the motor which drives looters out there to go and dig for something they can make money from. The fuss made by the media every time somebody makes a financially rewarding Treasure find in Britain with a metal detector seems, according to some observers, to be leading to an increase in the number of people buying metal detectors in Britain and using them to find Treasure. In the same way, knowledge that there are dealers who will pay sums of money for dug up antiquities encourages people to go out onto a local archaeological site and "try their luck". Even if digging on archaeological sites and taking and buying and selling artefacts from them is illegal. Collectors and dealers bend over backwards to deny the equation:
It really seems however quite an obvious equation, which is why responsible people buying antiquities should avoid purchasing items in which licit origin is not 100% reliably documented by a responsible seller.Ma = Lg
whereMa is people paying money from antiquities and
Lg is people going out to look for them to make money
Market = Looting
2 comments:
Ma = Lg where Ma is people paying money from antiquities and Lg is people going out to look for them to make money
Thanks Paul, what a breath of fresh air. The fact the antiquities market follows the basic laws of economics can't be pointed out too often.
Lord Renfrew is slagged off for pointing it out, let's see if the dealers dare slag off Lord Keynes as well!
They'll slag off anyone whose opinion is contrary to what they want, anything to actually avoid answering the question raised. Anything to distract attention when the hobby, the trade and its practices are under scrutiny of any kind.
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