United Kingdom
Related Encyclopedia Entries
Antonine Wall
One of the few places in Scotland where unauthorised metal detecting has been recorded to have taken place is on the Antonine Wall.
Corbridge
Corbridge has one of the most documented histories of instances of nighthawking in the United Kingdom.
Corinth Museum Theft 1990
In 1990 thieves stole more than 270 artifacts from the museum of the Corinth excavations in Greece. Several pieces were recovered from Christie’s New York in the late 1990s, while most of the remainder were discovered in Miami in 1999.
Fano Bronze
The Fano Bronze is a bronze statue currently owned by the J. Paul Getty Museum (Victorious Youth, 77.AB.30) but subject to an Italian claim for repatriation.
Giacomo Medici
Giacomo Medici is an Italian antiquities dealer who was convicted in 2005 of receiving stolen goods, illegal export of goods, and conspiracy to traffic.
HMS Duke of Albany
HMS Duke of Albany is a military vessel that was sunk during the First World War.
Hungarian claim on the Sevso Treasure
The strongest claim to ownership of the collection of Late Roman silver known as the Sevso Treasure has been maintained by Hungary.
Jiroft
In 2001 a rich tomb was systematically looted at the Iranian site of Jiroft. Artefacts from this looting were trafficked out of Iran and several individuals involved were sentenced to death.
La Mina
A Moche funerary site in Northern Peru that was looted for spectacular gold objects during the same looting wave that hit following the discovery of the famous lord of Sipán tomb.
Maithuna from Atru
Two 9th/10th century reliefs stolen from a temple in Rajasthan in 2009 and returned from the United States in early 2014.
Media Investigations
Some of the most informative studies of the traffic in cultural objects have been conducted by investigative media.
Nighthawk
The term ‘nighthawk’ is generally used to refer to an individual who knowingly uses a metal detector in illegal activity, particularly involving theft from a protected archaeological site and/or from private land.
Pangboche Hand
The Pangboche Hand is an alleged Yeti hand, stolen from a Nepali monastery. A finger was stolen in 1958 and smuggled by actor James Stewart and the complete hand was stolen in the early 1990s.
Salisbury Hoard
When a London antiquities dealer offered the British Museum rare Iron Age bronze miniature shields, it triggered the tracing of the origins of a unique and archaeologically significant, but illegally looted, hoard.
Saqqara Royal Duck Vessels
Two stolen alabaster duck vessels returned to Egypt in 2008, one from Christie’s...
Sevso Treasure
In 1993 a large, unprovenanced silver ‘treasure’ of Roman date was subject to a court battle over ownership in New York.
South Pole Exploration Artefacts Taken from Campsites of Robert Falcon Scott
Since the main Antarctic Treaty came into force in 1961, sites associated with the exploration of the continent have been protected. Items stolen from these sites have been subject to voluntary return.
Swetnam, Drew, Kelly Smuggling Ring of Objects from Sipán
The following is one particularly well documented incidence of the trafficking of artefacts from Sipan.
Vaman Ghiya
Indian antiquities dealer accused of selling stolen antiquities through Sotheby’s.
Wanborough
The Romano-British temple site at Wanborough in Surrey, England, was largely unknown and unstudied prior to a remarkable turn of events in the 1980s.
Yeavering Bell
‘A Northumberland National Park Voluntary Ranger patrol discovered the illegal excavations in the central area of Yeavering Bell, the largest hillfort in Northumberland and a scheduled ancient monument’ (Young 2002).
Related Publications
Atkinson, C., D. Yates, and N. Brooke (2020),‘Now that you mention it, museums probably are a target’: museums, terrorism and security in the United Kingdom”, Museum Management and Curatorship, 35(2): 109–124.
Atkinson, C., D. Yates, and N. Brooke (2019), ‘Researching a Risky Business? The Use of Freedom of Information to Explore Counterterrorism Security at Museums in the United Kingdom’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, DOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2019.1647682
Brodie, N. (2018), ‘Problematizing the encyclopedic museum: the Benin bronzes and ivories in historical context’, in Bonnie Effros and Guolong Lai (eds), Unmasking Ideologies: The Vocabulary and Symbols of Colonial Archaeology. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute, 61–82.
Brodie, N. (2017), “The role of conservators in facilitating the theft and trafficking of cultural objects: the case of a seized Libyan statue,” Libyan Studies 48: 117–123.
Brodie, N. and Manivet, P. (2017), “Cylinder Seal Sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s (1985–2013)”, Journal of Art Crime: 3–16.
Brodie, N. (2014), “Thinking Some More about the Sevso Treasure”, Journal of Art Crime 12: 3–12.
Thomas, S. (2014), ‘Comments on Josephine Munch Rasmussen: ‘Securing Cultural Heritage Objects and Fencing Stolen Goods? A Case Study on Museums and Metal Detecting in Norway’, Norwegian Archaeological Review 47 (2): 196-199.
Campbell, S. (2013) ‘Metal detecting, collecting and portable antiquities: Scottish and British perspectives’, Internet Archaeology 33, http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.33.1
Thomas, S. (2013) ‘Brian Hope-Taylor, the Council for British Archaeology, and “The Need for Adequate Archaeological Propaganda”‘, Public Archaeology 12 (2), 101-116.
Roodt, C., and Carey-Miller, D. (2013) ‘Stolen Cultural Property: Implications of Vitium Reale in Private Law and Private International Law’, Transnational Dispute Management 5.
Thomas, S. (2013), ‘Editorial: Portable Antiquities: Archaeology, Collecting, Metal Detecting’, Internet Archaeology 33.
Thomas, S. (2012) ‘Conference review – Objects and Landscape: Understanding the medieval through finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme’, The European Archaeologist 38, 35-38.
Thomas, S. (2012), ‘How STOP started: Early approaches to the metal detecting community by archaeologists and others’, in Moshenska, G., and Dhanjal, S. (eds.) Community Archaeology: Themes, Methods and Practices, (Oxford and Oakville: Oxbow Books), 42-57.
Thomas, S. (2012), ‘Searching for answers: A survey of metal-detector users in the UK’, International Journal of Heritage Studies 18 (1), 49-64.
Panella, C. (2011), ‘The social Life of (Plundered) Things. Les contraintes du ‘donner à voir”. In: G. Compagnon (ed), Halte au Pillage! Le patrimoine archéologique en péril, du détecteur de métaux au huaquero (Arles : Errance), 391-407.
Ulph, J. (2011), ‘Markets and Responsibilities: Forgeries and the Sale of Goods Act 1979’, Journal of Business Law (3), 261-281.
Ulph, J. (2011), ‘The Impact of the Criminal Law and Money Laundering Measures Upon the Illicit Trade in Art and Antiquities’, Art Antiquity and Law XVI (1), 39-52.
Mackenzie, S. and Green, P. (2009), ‘Criminalising the Market in Illicit Antiquities: an Evaluation of the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 in England and Wales’, in S. Mackenzie and P. Green (eds.), Criminology and Archaeology: Studies in Looted Antiquities (Oxford: Hart).
Thomas, S. (2009), ‘The Relationships between Archaeologists and Metal-detector Users in England and Wales: Impact of the Past and Implications for the Future’, Ph.D. thesis (Newcastle University).
Thomas, S. (2009), ‘Wanborough Revisited: The Rights and Wrongs of Treasure Trove Law in England and Wales’, in S. Thomas and P.G. Stone (eds.), Metal Detecting and Archaeology (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press), 153-66.
Mackenzie, S. (2007), ‘Dealing in Cultural Objects: a New Criminal Law for the UK’, Amicus Curiae: Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies, 71, 8-18.
Gaimster, D. (2006), ‘Recent measures against the international illicit trade in cultural objects: examining the new regulatory framework’, in E. Robson, L. Treadwell and C. Gosden (eds), Who Owns Objects? (Oxford: Oxbow), 91-104.
Thomas, S. (2006), ‘Building Bridges on Tyneside, June 2005’ Public Archaeology 5 (4), 253-256.
Brodie, N. (2005), ‘The circumstances and consequences of the British Library’s 1994 acquisition of some Kharosthi manuscript fragments’, Culture Without Context (17), 5–12.
Mackenzie, S. (2005), ‘Dig a Bit Deeper: Law, Regulation and the Illicit Antiquities Market’, British Journal of Criminology, 45, 249-68.
Gaimster, D. (2004), ‘Measures against the illicit trade in cultural objects: the emerging strategy in Britain’, Antiquity 78 (301), 699-707.
Gaimster, D. (2004), ‘Recent UK measures against the international illicit trade in cultural objects: outlining the UK strategy’, NOT FOR SALE. A British-Swiss Conference on the traffic in artefacts from Iraq, Afghanistan and Beyond, (Geneva: British Council), 26-30.
Kaye, L., and Spiegler, H. (2004) ‘Asset Valuation: Looted art carries its own set of problems’, New York Law Journal, May 24,
Addyman, P. and Brodie, N. (2002), ‘Metal detecting in Britain: catastrophe or compromise?’, in N. Brodie and K.W. Tubb (eds), Illicit Antiquities: the Theft of Culture and the Extinction of Archaeology (London: Routledge), 179–84.
Brodie, N. (2002), ‘Britannia waives the rules? The licensing of archaeological material for export from the United Kingdom’, in N. Brodie and K.W. Tubb (eds), Illicit Antiquities: the Theft of Culture and the Extinction of Archaeology (London: Routledge), 185–204.
Brodie, N. (2002), ‘Lure of the metal detector: hunting for treasure in England and Wales’, Archaeology (July/August), 60–64.
Gaimster, D. (2002) ‘Recent UK initiatives against illicit trade in antiquities, including accession to the 1970 UNESCO Convention’, Journal of the International Foundation for Art Research 5 (2), 12-19.
