Re: Looting

Last Friday, I had the great opportunity to listen to a guest-lecturer speak about his PhD research. His research is very interesting - it's difficult to encapsulate an hour-long talk (which was condensed from his Phd thesis) in a sentence, but generally, his lecture revolved around the relationship between the living and the dead on southern Vancouver Island. His research concerns aboriginal groups, and he adopts a visual method of archeology (meaning that he doesn't excavate anything) when studying burials. I would give more details on his talk and research, but maintaing my anonymity, as well as the anonymity of students or speakers in the class is important to me. 

After his lecture, I was really compelled by the ethics and politics of B.C. archeology that impacted his research. So far, my anthropology course-work has largely been theoretically or methodologically focused, so the discourse on ethics and politics was quite interesting to me. When you're bogged down with papers and readings it is hard to remember the everyday meaning and importance of what you're studying!

The guest lecturer made one comment that was particularly striking - when showing us maps of the site, he claimed he was only comfortable showing us the maps because the site is on Department of National Defence property, and there are "burly guys with guns between you and the cemetery sites". I hadn't realized before that secrecy and covertness when dealing with a public audience may be important. Archeology has quite an "armchair" following - and the threat of amateur archeologists (ahem, Heinrich Schliemann), collectors, or people looking to loot an archeological site is very real. It's a serious issue all over the world. Not only does it deplete the full picture of the site, it also destroys in context of what remains. This, of course, can serious consequences on academic interpretations of the site. 

Unfortunately, looting happens everywhere. It often occurs to a greater degree in turbulent areas that are experiencing upheavals of sorts. Recently, during Egypt's political turmoil, several notable archeological sites have been looted or disturbed. In particular, the ancient pharoinc-occupation site of El Hibeh has been devastated. The context of the site has been utterly destroyed: skeletal remains have been strewn about, walls have been destroyed, and looters pits are everywhere. The looters stole artefacts and treated human remains like trash, seriously and irrevocably diminishing scholarship and research that could have taken place. According to several news sources (I'll link you to them at the end of this post), the looting has primarily been undertaken by a local gang. Additionally, reports have claimed that policing forces are cooperating with the local gang, and allowing them to continue their looting. Due to safety reasons, the archeological team that was originally working on the site is unable to return until the gang that is responsible for the looting moves on. 

Pictures of the "Looting Pits" at El Hibeh. 

Photo via popular-archeology.com

These looters have destroyed an incredible amount of scholarship in El Hibeh. It's devastating - so much information is lost, and there is no chance of the information ever being properly recovered. Dr. Redmount, an archeologist involved with El Hibeh notes the importance of the archeological remains, claiming:

"Hibeh is vitally important to understanding the character of ancient Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period, a very confusing and confused historical era for which only limited archeological resources exist. Looting is obliteration, it destroys an irreplaceable, non-renewable cultural resource that belongs to humanity"

(quote via http://pasthorizonspr.com/)

Additionally, the clear disrespect for the bodies and artefacts is equally discomforting. Bodies are being strewn about, and discarded like trash. These are peoples bodies! Despite thoughts on the separation of the "self" and the "body" at death, I think many could agree that treating human remains like trash is wrong. It upsets me - what if my grave was looted and I was treated this way? What if one of my family members was treated this way? It seems so wrong - it strips away the buried individuals' dignity.  

Picture of mummified remains, discarded while looting for valuables
Photo via http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/

Of course, looting and the deliberate destruction of archeological sites are devastating. Although measures can be taken to discourage looting, stopping it all together is a difficult task. Often, drastic looting takes place in areas that are experiencing political crises, or in areas without a legitimate police force. It's an issue that has no clear solution, and unfortunately seems to be a product of larger systemic problems.

On a side note: Spike TV is releasing a cable-TV show "American Digger" which chronicles Amateur-archeologists digging through historically-rich areas in hopes of finding artefacts for auction. The Society for American Archeology has vehemently opposed this show, claiming that it glamourizes looting. You can read more about this issue here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/archaeologist_n_1315867.html

Further Reading:

http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2012/massive-looting-at-el-hibeh-egypt

http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-03-27/egypt-looters-ransack-archaeological-sites

http://globalheritagenetwork.ning.com/profiles/blogs/extensive-looting-at-el-hibeh-egypt