British Heritage Vandalism Abroad

       British archaeological heritage looted        
    and they're OK with that    

In Britain, there is a national Scheme that encourages members of the public to go out with metal detectors and spades and dig up historical sites to see what they can find and pocket. The system pats looters on the head, calls them "citizen archaeologists" and "heritage heroes" if they show the arkies the good bits of looted past and hand over any gold or silver etc. The looters talk of their "rights" to use the archaeological heritage just how they like, and are disparaging of anyone who points out they are damaging the heritage for the rest of us. With attitudes like that, it is not surprising what happens when we let these heritage-negligent islanders into Europe: "British tourist sparks outrage scrawling family’s initials on world heritage site" [Standard 9 Aug 2024].

A British man has sparked outrage after he was caught carving his children’s initials into an ancient wall at Pompeii. The 37-year-old was reported to Italian authorities for defacing the Domus of the Vestals, a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts huge numbers of tourists each year. According to Italian newspaper Secolo d'Italia the tourist had even begun to inscribe the date before he was apprehended. When questioned, the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, claimed he wanted to "leave a sign of his visit". He has since apologised for his actions. The tourist has been reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Torre Annunziata for damaging artistic heritage. Under new Italian regulations, he will be required to pay for the restoration of the damaged site and face a fine.

Sources are suggesting that the man was Baz Thugwit, an office worker from Durham. This has yet to be confirmed, the man needs to be named and shamed as a deterrent to others. Actions have consequences. Obviously, it could have been anyone since the public media in Britain mainly portray archaeological sites as places to be "interacted with" and exploited for personal (self-centred) entertainment and profit - like through "metal detecting". They need to get a good education, but archaeologists over there on the island really can't be bothered to try and teach the public what real archaeology is, it's easier to do the dumbdown.