Professor Dave on the Debate With the Hancockians

 

On the first anniversary of the Flint Dibble debate with Graham Hancock on the Joe Rogan podcast, Dave Farina, ("Professor Dave Explains", @ProfessorDaveExplains 3.72M subscribers 1.7K videos) has produced interesting material "The Great Big Pseudoarcheology Debunk (Graham Hancock and copycat grifters Dan Richards and Jimmy Corsetti)" witty and fairly comprehensive summary of Hancockism as pseudoscience from an outsider (2hrs 2min long). A useful reminder of what has been happening over the last year, worth a look.

'More Than 1,000 Stolen Khmer Artefacts Repatriated',

 Ripped off temple art repatriated and on display
        at the National Museum of Cambodia (Kiripost/Mon Sokeo)      

Since 1996, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MCFA). 1,086 looted or missing Khmer artefacts have been successfully repatriated to Cambodia through the efforts of various institutions, the government and individuals who contributed to the repatriation of these invaluable Khmer items (Mon Sokeo, 'More Than 1,000 Stolen Khmer Artefacts Repatriated', kiripost.com Wed, 09 Apr 2025).  

Of these, 494 pieces were returned through institutional and government channels, while 592 came back through individual contributions. The objects have been retrieved from 16 countries, including Australia, the UK, France, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway, China, and South Korea. They were originally trafficked through networks of individuals, organized groups, and institutions operating from remote regions of Cambodia to major international museums and private collectors.

To reclaim these objects, Cambodia’s restitution teams rely on legal frameworks stretching back to lawsof 1900. After independence from France in 1953, Cambodia ratified various international legal instruments, including the Convention for Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (Hague 1954). Additionally, the government adopted a new cultural heritage law in 1996, and has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with numerous countries and organisations, including Thailand, the UA and China.

This legal and diplomatic work responds to the historical movement of Khmer artefacts out of Cambodia. Much of the lootings dates back to French colonial rule. During this early period, some objects were removed with formal government approval, while others were stolen and sold abroad. In the 19th century, French explorers documented temple complexes, removing numerous statues and carvings, many of which remain on display in institutions such as the Guimet Museum in Paris.

Lintel Depicting, a Reclining Vishnu from the Pre-Angkorian period, was returned from the USA in 2023 and is on display at the National Museum of Cambodia. Kiripost/Mon Sokeo

Looting escalated dramatically between the 1970s and early 1990s, during the prolonged civil war and subsequent Vietnamese occupation. Khmer artworks became highly sought after on the Western art market, prompting thieves and trafficking gangs to strip temples in rural areas and smuggle statues and carvings across the border, most commonly to dealers in Thailand. From there, artefacts entered auction houses, museums, and private collections across the Western world, usually without documentation or official permission.

Momentum for repatriation increased sharply in 2013 after Cambodia succeeded in reclaiming objects looted from Koh Ker that had been publicly displayed in museums and auction houses. Since then, continued investigation, negotiation, and diplomatic pressure have resulted in the return of numerous sculptures, with many more still expected.

Public sentiment and strategic use of international media have played a crucial role in recent successes, Cambodia is benefiting from shifting global opinion that increasingly challenges museums and collectors holding artworks taken illicitly from their countries of origin. Alongside this is the strong voice of the Cambodian government, which continues to press for the return of stolen heritage. Nonetheless, officials note that the process is still far from complete, as large numbers of Khmer artefacts remain overseas. 

Norton Disney Amateur Archaeological Society Making a Fuss in the News Again

I was interested to see the Norton Disney Amateur Archaeology Society making a fuss again. They attempted to gain great publicity over their discovery of a 'dodecahedron', but when problems arose about its actual archaeological context and the way the find was being treated (and why material from archaeological investigations was going onto the PAS database) but also in particular how they were excavating and recording the site, instead of discussing it civilly, people associated with this find first of all were uncivil, then they decided to block me. Amateurish. 

Paul Whitewick has a video up on YouTube that raises some important issues about archaeological information in the public domain concerning the grumpy and defensive Norton Disney Society:

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' The Roman Dodecahedron Debate Nobody Expected' Posted on You Tube Apr 13, 2025

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He writes:

I was altered to a BBC Sounds interview from BBC Radio Lincolnshire recently. It discussed the "Fake" Roman Dodecahedron and how it has caused upset. Naturally I was keen to listen. Here is a brief discussion on why I need to rant a tad about it.

The Article in Question: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0l1....

Original License suggesting CC [it is actually the PAS record Unique ID: LIN-BC9890 - PMB]: https://web.archive.org/web/202401230...

When and how the CC license was changed: https://web.archive.org/web/diff/2024...

The photo attribution was changed from "Rights Holder: Lorena Hitchens" to "Rights Holder: Lincolnshire County Council" and a note added to the PAS record:

"Notes:

Enquiries relating to the creation of 3D Models.

Please note that a license from the private owner of that object is required before creating and distributing a 3D model of the dodecahedron. However, the owner is choosing to remain anonymous. There will be a published report that will be submitted to the Lincolnshire Historic Environment Record (HER) although again the report will still be copyrighted by its author(s), so again, permission is required to use that (sic) data for any models."

And "the [anonymous] private owner" is the same person that hides under the umbrella of respectability the PAS record provides? Yet both the common heritage belongs to us all, and the PAS database is there to make information about it (INCLUDING its shape, appearance, dimensions, weight, colour publicly available - for all to use... that's the blooming point of it). So what is going on here? Paul Whitewick has a valid point, and I'd be interested to hear the PAS expand on what their attitude is to all this. 

This is however not a new issue with these amateurs: British Archaeology and Duodecahedral Mystery Fever (III): This is Mine! PACHI 6 May 2024

Lost Arts of Nepal Vienna Sale

 

Notification by  Lost Arts of Nepal ( @LostArtsofNepal) FAITH STOLEN - Nepalese antiquities on sale today right under our noses at Galerie Zacke Auction, Vienna Austria 10/11th April 2025. Where is the documentation verifying they are not stolen?

GALLERY ZACKE since 1968 - "House of tradition" (sic) for antique Asian art, known for the largest exhibitions and auctions of non-European art in Austria. But how does in get there? By what rigtht is it spold there, instead of being repatriated in the case of items that are illcit (ie have no proper documentation of legal acquisition and export)?

Lots  24 ( From a London dealership, acquired in the local art market.), 26 (The collection of Dr. John Ross Sr., thence by descent to his son and thence by further direct descent), and 28 -31 "from the Collection of Raymond & Marsha Vargas Handley" (28 - Spink & Son, London, 1987; 29 - Spink & Son, London, 1987 (invoice lost); 30 - Spink & Son, London, 1987 (invoice lost). 31 - Hardt & Sons, New York, United States, 15 February 2003)

Raymond G. Handley (1923-2009) partnered with Ray Renault in the 1950s to co-found one of California’s oldest and most successful real estate development firms. They were pioneers in shaping the early landscape of Silicon Valley, developing buildings for major tech innovators such as Intel and Raytheon, laying the groundwork for the region’s transformation into a global technology hub. Raymond Handley was a keen collector of art who traveled extensively, including the most remote parts of Papua New Guinea and Africa. In Mali, where his brother served as the Ambassador of the United States, he drilled more than fifty water wells for Dogon villages. His passion led him to establish Folk Art International/Xanadu Tribal Arts, an ethnographic art business which developed into the Xanadu Gallery in the late 1990s, located in the historic Frank Lloyd Wright building off Union Square, and continued by his widow Marsha Vargas Handley until her retirement in 2015. Having opened her first gallery in the Bay Area in 1973, she is an important figure in the Asian art world in her own right, serving as the president of the International Netsuke Society for over 16 years. Raymond Handley’s first visit to Spink & Son took place in the early 1980s, between Christmas and New Year’s, when much of the staff was away on vacation. During this visit, Raymond was captivated by the gallery's impressive selection of fine works and quickly amassed a collection of over 100 items he intended to purchase. This large number caused some concern for Anthony Gardner, head of Spink’s Southeast Asian Department, who had never dealt with such a sizable transaction. As the total approached 108 items, Anthony suggested Raymond stop there, citing it as an auspicious number. To this day, 108 remains the record for the most works sold in a single day, and it became customary thereafter for the staff to remain at work during the holiday period.

Towards Updating the Artefact Erosion Counter

The original version of the Artefact Erosion Counter in the left margin of this blog was created in the middle of 2018 when there were thought to be 29000/30000 active detectorists in the UK. This figure now seems to have changed (https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2025/03/when-are-british-archaeologists-going.html). 

The table looks like this (the square brackets indicate that we really can have no certainty about how many UK detectorists complied with lockdown regulations - the figures should be treated as nominal maximums) 

Year	No. of detectorists	No. of finds p/a
2018	29/30,000	907,500
2019	32,000	968,000
2020	33,000	[998,250]
2021	34,000	[1,028,500]
2022	36,000	1,089,000
2023	37,000	1,119,250
2024	38,000	1,149,500

Extrapolating, the figures it looks like there might be c. 39000 detectorists at the end of 2025 and at the standard rate, they will have found 1,257,750 recordable artefacts in this one year alone.

I will not set up a new counter at the moment, but it is clear from this that the existing one is ticking too slowly. Using the figures given above (and beginning by subtracting the c. 5,445,000 artefacts calculated at the 2018 rate), starting from the end of 2018 and ending on 31st Dec 2024 (and ignoring the issue of quantifying the Covid shortfall as unquantifiable) the counter should have counted off 6,382, 750 artefacts). So instead of at the very beginning of 2025 it should have read 19,389,186  objects/.

The PAS database today (four  months later) reads "1,802,884 objects within 1,165,711 records" for England and Wales. That's not looking good.

Trespassing Artefact Hunter Caught Red-Handed with Metal Detector At Two in the Morning Looting a Norfolk Field

BBC 'Nighthawk suspect arrested in field' BBC 9th April 2025

A man has been arrested on suspicion of illegal metal detecting [...] Norfolk Police said officers patrolling Methwold Hythe, near Downham Market, spotted activity in a field at about 02:30 BST on Monday. A man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of theft. Officers said a metal detector and spade were seized along with a quantity of metal coins. The suspect was taken to King's Lynn Police Investigation Centre for questioning, and was released on bail until 12 June.

Interestingly, perhaps the tide is turning and the message is getting through, this is the first such reportt that I have seen for ages without the cut-and-paste addition that "the majority of metal detectorisys are responsible law abiding searchers, reporting all they find increasing our knowledge of the past". Good. Because its not true.

The Taş Tepeler project in Turkey

 The Taş Tepeler project in southeastern Turkey, centered around Şanlıurfa Province, involves the excavation of multiple prehistoric sites dating back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (approximately 10,000–7,000 BCE). These sites are significant for the occurrence on some of them of monumental T-shaped pillars and the insights they provide into the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled communities. The project currently encompasses the following excavated sites:

• Göbeklitepe: The most famous site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its large circular enclosures with T-shaped limestone pillars, some decorated with animal reliefs. Excavations began in 1995 and continue to reveal structures from around 9600–7000 BCE.
• Karahantepe: Located about 46 kilometers from Şanlıurfa, this site features over 250 T-shaped megaliths and evidence of both ritual and domestic use. Excavations started in 2019 and have uncovered realistic human statues and enclosures.
• Sayburç: This site has yielded a notable relief depicting a five-figure scene with humans, leopards, and a bull, considered one of the earliest narrative carvings from the Neolithic. Some of the buildings had T-shaped pillars, some in the shape of human figures. Excavations are ongoing.
• Harbetsuvan Tepesi: Situated 7 kilometers southwest of Karahantepe, it’s a smaller site (about 5 decares), currently under excavation.The stone structures, partially destroyed by later damage, consisted of rectangular buildings, at least one of which was equipped with a pair of stone pillars at the centrer. Stone construction included an important finding: a seated male sculpture resembling those recovered at Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe
• Gürcütepe: Part of the initial seven sites announced in 2021, it’s being explored for its Neolithic remains, though specific findings are less publicized.
• Çakmaktepe: Another of the original seven, this site is under active excavation, contributing to the broader understanding of the region’s prehistory.
• Sefertepe: Included in the initial phase, it’s being excavated to uncover T-shaped obelisks and related structures.
• Yeni Mahalle Mound: Also among the first seven, this site near Şanlıurfa is part of the ongoing digs, revealing early settlement evidence.
• Kurttepesi: One of the twelve identified sites with T-shaped pillars, currently under excavation as part of the expanded project.
• Taşlıtepe: A site similar in scale to Harbetsuvan, it’s being excavated to explore its Neolithic features.
• Ayanlar Höyük: Located 30 kilometers west of Şanlıurfa, it’s under investigation, though no T-shaped stelae have been found yet, suggesting it may have been a cult center.
• Yoğunburç: Added to the excavation list, it’s being studied for its contributions to the Neolithic narrative.
• Söğüt Tarlası-Biris Mezarlığı is a site located about 32 km northwest of Şanlıurfa, just south of the city center of Bozova 

The Taş Tepeler project, launched in 2021 by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, initially focused on seven sites (Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, Gürcütepe, Sayburç, Çakmaktepe, Sefertepe, and Yeni Mahalle) but has since expanded to include twelve locations, with nine actively excavated as of 2024. The project aims to excavate a total of twelve sites by 2024, though some, like Nevalı Çori (submerged by a dam) and Hamzan Tepe, are not currently active dig sites within this initiative. Excavations are ongoing, with plans to transform findings into tourist destinations, reflecting the region’s role as a cradle of early civilization.