"Heritage thefts in Alaska, England and Wales"

Heritage Action continue their attempts to get the issue of knowledge theft talked about in Bonkers Britain. This weekend the starting point is an event in Alaska where native American material was looted, a reward was offered and an outcry was aroused, because: “These stolen items are part of our rich cultural heritage... We feel absolutely violated in hearing about the theft” as one person put it. A Government spokesperson concurred.

Meanwhile, across the pond, no-one was offering a reward for the recovery of any one of the 10 million bundles of historical knowledge legally stolen by non-reporting artefact hunters since 1975.  They included lots of good stuff but no-one knows exactly what, as that’s the awful nature of the theft and the blessed ally of denial. “These stolen items are part of our rich cultural heritage” said a heritage busybody on a website. “They still belong to the community and our region and should be returned. We feel absolutely violated in hearing about the theft”. A Government spokesperson pretended not to hear.

Why and is it in some way related to the way the same government is treating the HMS Victory site?