Antiquities in Wartime: eBay and the Ukrainian Antiquities Sellers [Updated]

 

            That's probably the remains of a             
  looted cremation cemetery (eBay.com)

eBay has long been a place where Ukrainian artefact hunters, fakers and middlemen have sold their goods. For example if you are looking for "Viking" artefacts, a Ukrainian seller has something for you, here 1100+ items in one section alone just today. No matter that some of these items are not even Early Medieval Scandinavian in type at all (sometimes far from it) but many are clearly outright fakes. Or perhaps Scythian is your thing... There are 35 dugup artefacts on sale just today, among the books and tat. In a situation where you might be one of those odd people that is interested in collecting "Medieval"... then they have a range of "Kievan Rus" material for you - 509 items just today. Their definition of Kievan Rus is a little off, since a lot of this region was technically "under the Tatar Yoke" (the 'Golden Horde') from 1228 to 1480, part of Ruthenia (1250-1350) and then under Lithuanian and Polish-Lithuanian rule before later becoming part of Muscovy under Aleksy I Michajłowicz​ and later Tsars (interesting article on Russia's 'Gathering of the Lands' here). You can also buy considerable quantities of all sorts of dugup WW1 and WW2 militaria from Ukrainian sellers.

The picture is of some "9 pcs ROMAN Empire or VIKING Fibula Brooch BRONZE Fibulae UKRAINE Part Fragment", current bid: US $0.06 [ 2 bids ] Free shipping ("This package may be delayed due to shipping carrier service disruptions"). These are being sold, along with 965 other dugups trinkets and other items by seller " thebestfromukraine (4628)" [2.0K Followers 99.9% Positive feedback 17K Items sold since Jul 06, 2016; "Top-rated seller: One of eBay's most reputable sellers".] who boldly gives their location as: "Europe, Ukraine". They boast:

I live in Ukraine, Eastern Europe. The territory is rich in historical events, each era left its own unique and wonderful artifacts. At different times this territory was the property of the countries: the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Poland, the Russian Empire, Romania, USSR and others. During frequent wars, the territories were occupied by German, Russian, Polish, cheh, Romanian, Hungarian, and Austrian troops.
There are a lot of historical items left from different people that you can see in my store.
Many people buy such items to create their installations and decor.
Not only will these things beautify your home or office, they can be a great addition to your collection or museum exhibit. Buying antique items is the best investment that is independent!
Where else will you find such interesting items as not in my store?

Adding:

From my city to the fighting battlefields - 600 kilometers, so I can still work. On the first day of the war, Russia bombed my city ... :( Ukrainian Post work export now, - delivers packages to Europe - from there they will fly to you. It will take longer. I hope for understanding and help! Bid & win!

From the mention of bombing and Romanians, I am going to guess that this "city" might be Odessa or perhaps Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. So some people are fighting and dying for theior country, while others profit from selling off its heritage. Not all buyers see this (comment by "m***d" in the US (?)) in the past month:

"We just received a large order of the most incredible antiques from this shop, packaged with the most delicate of care, and we witnessed history as we unraveled the gorgeous items - and the seller did all of this while in an active war zone! We feel absolutely honored to be holding a piece of history from a corner of the world fighting for their freedom. Thank you, thebestfromukraine, for your commitment to preserving history during a tumultuous period in your country - Glory to Ukraine!"

The objects bought included dugup WW1 and WW2 militaria including [iron] "cross(es)" for US $376.83. This seller has a lot of WW1 and WW2 dugups. 

Update April 16th 2022:
How much is worth the trashing of archaeological context and an archaeological site in a war zone and region where cultural genocide is being actively pursued? 

"Bidding Ended: Apr 16, 2022 , 5:59AM
Winning bid: US $1.25 [3 bids ]"

There's something else I would draw attention to. These fibulae are photographed in a way most people would say is "upside down", for generations, at least Almgren on, we've been accustomed to seeing fibulae pictured with the spring at the top and the catchplate at the bottom, in book after book, and museum display after display. That's the antiquarian way of looking at them, when people were less bothered about context (it also makes sense, if the pin becomes undone, the fibula stays in the fabric). But when we excavate graves more carefully (ie not with a metal detector and a spade) we find that over most of the Roman world and at most times they were in fact worn with the (heavier) spring pointing down. But our Ukrainian dealer shows them like that, suggesting they know more than average. And yet they write "Roman Empite or Viking" which is just noonsense. They are never in a million years anything "Viking"... as for whether they came from the Empire or not, they look more like Wielbark ones to me (but I have an aversion to Central European fibulologists and fibulology, as I do to metal detectorists, so don't quote me on that). This misattribution is presumably to make them more saleable.