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A legal resource for cultural property, archaeology, and art law enthusiasts.
Browsing All Posts filed under »Archaeology Law«
Notice to Readers
As of July 15, 2014 this site will no longer be updated. However, the content will remain posted for your educational reference. Thank you!
Pics of the Lovely Monte Albán (Oaxaca, Mexico)
February 5, 2014
On a recent trip to Mexico, I had the good fortune of visiting Monte Albán, a large pre-Columbian archaeological site near Oaxaca central. Monte Albán was founded in the 5th century BC, and was a pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for close to a thousand years. Here are a few pictures that I took, although […]
An ad-hoc International Art Crime Tribunal to resolve the fate of the Munich Gurlitt pictures?
November 21, 2013
My friend and associate Judge Arthur Tompkins of New Zealand sent me the following open letter which he has written in regard to the trove of art recovered from a Munich resident, reported on in Archaeolaw here: 80-Year-Old Munich Man with Confiscated Trove of Nazi-Looted Art Breaks Silence Open Letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel: […]
80-Year-Old Munich Man with Confiscated Trove of Nazi-Looted Art Breaks Silence
November 20, 2013
An 80-year-old Munich man inherited upwards of a thousand pieces of artwork from his father, and 500 of the works are suspected to include pieces taken from Jews during the Nazi regime. During the war, Cornelius Gurlitt’s father was one of the four major art dealers for Hitler himself. The German government confiscated the trove […]
Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts: Trend of Increased Penalties for Antiquities Smuggling Continues
November 13, 2013
Azerbaijan has increased their protection of cultural property by way of increased penalties for illegal exporting of protected cultural materials. Azernews explains: According to the changes, illegal export of Azerbaijani cultural heritage samples included in the list of cultural values will be punishable by a fine worth 1,500 manats for individuals, 3,000 manats for officials […]
Nicholas Cage on the Hot Seat for Smuggled T-Rex Fossil?
November 6, 2013
In 2007, Nicholas Cage outbid fellow actor Leonardo Dicaprio for a 67-million-year-old skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a close relative of the T. rex, paying $US276,000 for what he called “a ferocious-looking addition to his fossil collection.” Now, this fossil may be one of those that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aims to seize as […]
Costa Rican Archaeologist with Dodgy History Acquitted of Smuggling
October 24, 2013
Costa Rican citizen and Munich resident Leonard Patterson has been acquitted of charges of attempting to smuggle 1,400 pieces of pre-Columbian art from Spain to Germany. The Latin-American Herald Tribune report is reproduced below, although the Spanish website El Universal has a much more detailed (and interesting) version of the story. Of particular interest are […]
Cultural Property Protection and the U.S. Military: A View From an Army Archaeologist
October 22, 2013
Please see the following notice from DePaul regarding a program that will be happening… tomorrow!! If you are in the Chicago area, it sounds like it’d be worth checking out. Sorry for the late notice, but we are very fortunate to have Dr. Laurie Rush as a guest speaker at DePaul College of Law this […]
Emergency “Red List” of Endangered Syrian Artifacts Released, Includes Sculptures, Coins
September 26, 2013
ICOM (International Council of Museums) officials worked remotely to create a “Red List” of artifacts endangered by the current conflict in Syria. This Red List will be disseminated to law enforcement agencies, museums, and artifact dealers worldwide, in an attempt to prevent their illicit trade and/or destruction. The Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at […]
Archaeologists Keep a 1,200-Year Secret Just a Little Longer
September 24, 2013
Archaeologists were right to sit on their discovery of an ancient, intact Wari temple in Peru for fear that it would be looted. The Pacific Standard explained: Score one for the clever archaeologists and zero for the evil antiquities smugglers. A few weeks back, news broke that a joint Peruvian/Polish team had discovered an intact, […]
Related Reading
Cultural Property & Archaeology Law 
July 15, 2014
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