"That belongs in a Museum!" Tomb Raiders and Artifacts

Arch of Trajan in Benevento

Most everyone my age remembers the famous quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "That belongs in a museum!" But the attempts to steal and sell archaeological items on the black market is as old as archaeology itself (well, much older when judging from the beginning of scientific archaeology). Last Friday (July 12), the Guardia di Finanza announced the seizure of 400 archaeological artifacts in Benevento (a delightful city to visit, incidentally), with an estimated black market value of 2 million Euros. The items had been collected from all over Italy and come from different time periods. Of particular interest were 4th century BC red-glaze vases from tombs in southern Italy, as well as a hut urn, bucchero ware, and Corinthian vases from Etruscan sites. One tombarolo (tomb-raider) was arrested.

The Carabinieri announce the seizure of objects

Is there any cooler word in any language than tombarolo? And yet, over the past three years we have seen a significant rise in clandestine sales of ancient artifacts. The day before the events in Benevento, a major operation by the Carabinieri in Bari and Naples arrested 21 tombaroli in Puglia and recovered hundreds of objects (548 to be exact), worth somewhere around 100,000 Euros. Here is an article from LaRepubblica.Bari, with excellent pictures of the seized effects. The methods used were the old spillone method (essentially, sticking a giant pin in the ground to search for open tombs) underground, metal detectors, and even ground-penetrating radar. Another more detailed report (in Italian) can be found here. 

My own personal favorite story about tombaroli is the events of January 11, 2011, when the Guardia di Finanza arrested two grave robbers in Ostia (the port of Rome) who were preparing to smuggle a rare statue of Caligula to Switzerland. The authorities demanded that the tombaroli shows them the find spot of the statue, and they led the GdF to the area of Lake Nemi, where the emperor was known to have had a villa and two enormous pleasure barges that floated blissfully on the lake between 37–41 AD, when he was emperor. Now, the statue has been cleaned and restored and is now to be housed in the infrequently visited (only some 6,500 a year) Museo delle Navi (Museum of the Ships) along the shore of the lake. Along with this rare statue, a number of other objects found in the vicinity of Nemi are part of the exhibition, as are a large number of items that were previously found in the area but had languished in storehouses of the Palazzo Massimo in Rome. The more fabulous bronze elements of the ships still remain in the museum at Rome.

Why so few visitors to the Museo delle Navi? Well, it was built in the 1930s to house those two pleasure barges that were finally recovered from the bottom of Lake Nemi. Under Mussolini's direction, archaeologists and conservators drained the lake, carefully protected the fragile wood, and moved the ships to the hangar-sized space built especially for them. There they remained until May 1944, when retreating Germans (the Italians had signed a peace treaty with the Allies in Sept. 1943) burned the ships. Now, all that remains are a few isolated pieces and small models of the ships. Hopefully, the new Caligula exhibition will bring more visitors to this museum. Plus, the area around Lake Nemi is beautiful and worth a half day visit (and make sure you have lunch overlooking the lake!).

Meanwhile, just a few weeks ago, the Carabinieri arrested five men charged with possession of thousands of stolen objects in Perugia. Of particular note are 23 Etruscan funeral urns from the 3rd-2nd century BC that belonged to a single family, the Canci. These urns depicted a great number of scenes from Greek myth, and some of the other objects were gold plated. Authorities were able to determine the point of origin of the urns, a single underground tomb, which was discovered by private construction workers—who saw a chance to profit. There are countless Etruscan tombs underground that have yet to be excavated. By Italian law, private individuals who unearth antiquities must surrender them to the state. But with so much money at stake—and given the disastrous Italian economy—I'm not surprised that few will actually follow the law. For an English version of the story, click here (with 4 pictures); for a more detailed Italian article, click here (with 9 excellent pictures).

For those who are interested in the shady antiquities collecting in general can see Paul Barford's excellent and thorough blog here. He also has a discussion of the tombaroli arrested in Puglia. Want a fun book to read on "stolen" antiquities? Go read Sharon Waxman's Loot. It's journalistic-y but an easy and informative read.

Weekly Tidbits:

In an archaeological dig run by the Archaeological Institute of America in Ostia Antica, excavations just outside of the archaeological park discovered a late Republican tomb and a 4th c. AD house with beautiful marble opus sectile (geometrically cut). See this article with pictures (pics 7 and 8 have the opus sectile).

The frescos at the Villa of the Mysteries are getting cleaned using laser technology, which is costly but non-damaging to the original frescos. The pictures on the website are pretty stunning.

The restoration of the Colosseum, funded by Diego della Valle, is set to begin immediately. The first operation is to clean the exterior. The building will be covered in scaffolding ten arches at a time until it is completed.

By accident I came across this short report of the research done on the materials found in the sewer beneath Herculaneum, but it reminded me of the successes that Herculaneum has enjoyed over the past ten years or so. The sewers that were preserved in the eruption of Vesuvius allow us to get a sense of the diet of people who lived in the area (more diverse than one might think). An outstanding, detailed, and accessible article (with full-color photos) can be found on the Herculaneum Conservation Project website. The HCP was established by a partnership between the local Soprintendenza and the Packard Humanities Institute—the same as that which brought the PHI Latin database to light—in 2001. This joint initiative, joined by the Bristish School at Rome in 2004, offers a blueprint how to maintain an ancient site while allowing for extremely important research to be conducted. Authorities in Pompeii should take note—80% of the buildings at risk in Herculaneum have been restored, and most buildings are completely open to the public. This YouTube video gives a good sense of the difference that the HCP has made (Italian subtitles, but side-by-side before and after pictures start at just after the three minute mark).

If you happen to find yourself in Bari in the near future (why not?), go see the new archaeological park that just opened. It's free for the time being.