The words of Wayne:
Today, some archaeologists know so little about ancient coins that they see their only function as a means to date an archaeological site. These misguided academics lobby against private collecting and support overreaching regulation of the hobby and trade. None of them have significantly enriched our understanding of the past through ancient coins and some have gone so far as to condemn the efforts of private scholars. Fortunately, coin collecting is still a democratic activity and not a cloistered and sequestered exercise.
Today, most US ancient dugup coin fondlers know so little about the study of the past that they see in ancient coins only something to commodify and collect. These misguided buffoons lobby against the academic study of the past and the preservation of archaeological resources. They wish further deregulation of the international market in archaeological artefacts, to the benefit of the no-questions-asked trade and the smugglers and looters that benefit from it and the detriment of the preservation of the archaeological record. None of them have significantly enriched our understanding of the past through ancient coins and many of them have gone so far as to condemn the academic efforts of institutional scholars. Fortunately, archaeology is still an activity which is not a cloistered and sequestered exercise like private collecting and has much informed public support.
Contact: Wayne G. Sayles, 417-679-2142, wgs@wgs.cc, www.accg.us and tell him what you think. The venomous old man will be glad to have attracted some attention by his attacks on archaeologists and preservationists.
Either Mr. Sayles has not read the publications of those whom he so coyly criticizes for speaking out. I have. And they have published on many aspects: iconography, hoard analysis, etc. The material context is naturally an important part of their work and does indeed do more than date an archaeological site (as if there were something wrong with dating an archaeological site in first place!).
ReplyDeleteOr maybe Mr. Sayles knows all this and is simply trying to misrepresent the situation to his benefit?
Bravo for holding these underhanded thugs publicly accountable!
Well, the question is: "what does a coiney know"?
ReplyDeleteThat I would like to know as well. Those who shout loudest have the most myopic view and methodological - if you can call it that - approaches.
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