Looters Destroying History in Western North Carolina Forests

 In the USA collectors of ancient artefacts are damaging sites:

historical treasures are increasingly being looted by amateur relic hunters who dig up sites in the national forests, looking for arrowheads and other artifacts. The arrowheads can sell for as little as $5 apiece. Other items can fetch thousands of dollars. A search on eBay for “Indian artifacts for sale” results in a list of more than 3,000 items [...]  the number of documented violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act in North Carolina’s national forests has nearly doubled in recent years to about 20-25 a year. 

Rodney Snedeker, forest archaeologist and tribal liaison with the National Forests in North Carolina confirms this, when interviewed, he said: “The amount of damage has increased dramatically [...]  People are digging a lot more at these sites and causing a lot more damage.”

In the USA archaeological resources are vulnerable to the attentions of collectors because they are usually in places where people believe they can do something illicit without being observed. These sites are not in general guarded. Forest Service rangers patrol and sometimes use surveillance in areas prone to looting in an attempt to catch violators, Snedeker said. They also get tips from the public about such damage. The other problem is that the US authorities do not know where all the sites are: "Forest Service has documented about 3,000 archaeological sites across Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, which cover more than a million acres in Western North Carolina, Snedeker said. But only about 20 percent of the forests has been inventoried, meaning there are many more sites yet to be found".

Looters know to look by targeting rock overhangs that were used by Native Americans for shelter, said [archaeologist David Moore, Warren Wilson College who has] witnessed damage to sites in the Upper Curtis Creek area from people digging around the rock outcroppings. “It was clear that people were vandalizing them, people digging in the soil in the shelter, very intentionally looking for artifacts,” he said. “We have many examples of these kinds of sites that have been destroyed by looting.” “They just dig holes and sift the soil,” he said. “Usually they are looking for stone tools, arrowheads and spear points and things like that. And by definition, when you dig into an archaeological site you destroy it, because the context of that soil is what makes the site important.”

There are several reasons for the increase in looting of sites in the USA. Snedeker believes the increase in looting is because of a greater interest in history and a desire by many to make money. Moore said:

“They may do that for their own collections, or they may do it to sell the artifacts  [...] There is a market. Today, it’s often driven by these reality shows on television.” A show on cable network Spike TV called “American Digger” features a former professional wrestler who digs up artifacts and sells them. The National Geographic Channel also has a version called “Diggers.” Moore said the shows have been widely protested by professional archaeologists for the damage they promote. Arrowheads and projectile points from Western North Carolina can sell anywhere from around $5 to as much as $100, depending on how old they are and where they were found, Snedeker said. “Whole vessels can sell for much more. They can sell for hundreds of dollars, possibly thousands,” he said. “The more rare an item is and the more location information you have on it makes it worth more. “There’s an international market for American Indian artifacts. Some pottery items in the Southwest have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

  Clarke Morrison , 'Looters destroying history in WNC forests' Ashville Citizen-times, Oct. 26, 2013.

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