SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog » looting

Prehistoric remains uncovered in Bohol

noelbynature — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:34:11 +0000

Prehistoric remains and earthenware have been discovered in a cave in Bohol province in Central Philippines, although it looks as if treasure hunters may already have gotten there first!

Prehistoric relics unearthed at Loay cavern, officials say
The Bohol Standard, 05 February 2012

Prehistoric artifacts, including a human skull and earthen wares, have been dug up at Sukgang Cavern, barangay Tayong of this town, by archeologists of Philippine National Museum, which, if after carbon dating process could prove that Bohol island was once inhabited by ancient people during or even before Christ’s time.

Municipal councilor Hermes Entero of this historical town bared this during an exclusive interview yesterday at his residence of Bool, Tagbilaran City. His revelation is corroborated by curator Charlemeine Titangco, officer-in-charge of National Museum Bohol branch in this city.

Philippine National Museum (PNM) archeologist Ame Garong also confirmed the ancient finds but the relics were now at the Manila National Museum for more study. She said in her e-mail reply to this writer that the NM would soon conduct a full-blown archeological digging at the site to determine the richness of the cavern, which is just a few meters across the national highway near the border of Lila town.

Full story here.

Banteay Chmar starting to see tourists again

noelbynature — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

A feature on the massive temple of Banteay Chmar in Banteay Meanchay province, not far from the Thai-Cambodian border. The site is starting to see visitors again, but it’s sculptures have been looted – including a pair that’s said to be in the garden of a Thai politician!

Another Great Cambodian Temple Stirs To Life
AP, via the Huffington Post, 03 Jan 2012

It’s still entwined in mystery and jungle vines, but one of Cambodia’s grandest monuments is slowly awakening after eight centuries of isolated slumber, having attracted a crack archaeological team and a trickle of tourists.

“It takes awhile to unfold this temple â€“ and everywhere there are enticements,” says John Sanday, the team leader, as he navigates through tangled undergrowth, past dramatic towers and bas-reliefs and into dark chambers of the haunting monastic complex of Banteay Chhmar.

What drove Jayavarman VII, regarded as the greatest king of the Angkorian Empire, to erect this vast Buddhist temple about 105 miles (170 kilometers) from his capital in Angkor and in one of the most desolate and driest places in Cambodia remains one of its many unsolved riddles.

Full story here.

Portuguese-era artefacts looted from Malacca river

noelbynature — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:38:11 +0000

500-year-old Portuguese-era artefacts have been illegally recovered from the Malacca River in Malaysia and sold, reportedly to antique dealers in Singapore.

Coins recovered from the Malacca River, The Star 20110921

Ancient treasure found â€“ and sold
The Star, 21 September 2011

Malacca to act on theft of ancient treasure
The Star, 22 September 2011

Agents of scrap metal dealers have been selling old Portuguese coins, bullets and religious amulets that were unearthed during a recent landslip along the banks of the Malacca River to antique brokers from Singapore.

The artefacts, the most valuable of which found so far was a cannon ball that fetched RM500, were discovered after an ancient jetty at Stadhuys collapsed in May.

The artefacts are believed to be about 500 years old.

Full story here and here.

Philippines' treasures under threat

noelbynature — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:16:00 +0000

An article highlighting the woes of maintaining Philippines’ cultural collections in the midst of competing economic pressures, poor infrastructure and looting.

photo credit: asteegabo

Chaos threatens Philippinesâ€™ cultural treasures
AFP, via Philippine Inquirer, 14 July 2011

Thieves and art dealers are the usual suspects, but mildew and flashbulbs are just as dangerous for some of the Philippinesâ€™ beleaguered cultural treasures.

From a 30,000-year-old skull fragment of one of its first human inhabitants to imposing churches built during Spanish colonial rule, the Southeast Asian archipelago has a stunning display of artifacts showcasing its diverse history.

But they are under threat on every front.

Even at the National Museum where half a million archaeological items are supposed to be protected, a lack of funds means they could be as vulnerable as treasures outside its walls, said its chief conservator Orlando Abinion.

â€œThey are in danger, yes, they are prone to deterioration, robbery, vandalism,â€ Abinion told AFP inside the rundown hallways of one of the museumâ€™s twin 85-year-old neoclassical buildings in the historic old quarter of Manila.

Malacca Museums investigate shipwreck looting in its waters

noelbynature — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:15:16 +0000

The state government of Malacca is investigating allegations that shipwrecks in its territorial waters have been looted, in activities that have been going on as far as the late 1990s.

Malacca probes sunken treasure thefts
The Star, 26 June 2011

The state Museum Authority has been ordered to get more evidence on reports that hundreds of underwater artefacts from dozens of shipwrecks off the Tanjung Tuan coast here have been stolen by relic hunters.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the evidence was crucial for the state government to file a police report on the alleged theft of these submerged treasures.

â€œI will ask the relevant authorities to conduct a probe in a bid to get more proof for the police and also to execute legal action against the culprits.

â€œThere were reports that irresponsible individuals had gone underwater to take away the national treasures that are worth billions.

Full story here.

Philippine caves looted

noelbynature — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:14:13 +0000

Philippine archaelogist Victor Paz sounds an alert over the theft of bones from two burial caves in Palawan. The bones are thought to be stolen by the descendants of World War II soldiers. The linked article also carries a copy of Paz’s letter to the National Museum detailing the looting matter.

National Museum probes alleged looting of burial caves by Japanese
GMA News, 03 June 2011

An archeologist has called the attention of the National Museum of the Philippines to the reported looting of 500-year-old skeletal remains from two archeological sites in El Nido, Palawan.

In a letter dated May 11, Dr. Victor Paz said all the bones in Maulohin Cave and Istar Cairn â€” both on the island of Imorigue in New Ibajay town â€” have been stolen by Japanese descendants of missing World War II soldiers.

He noted that they took bones from burial caves believing they were Japanese.

“We write to report to the National Museum a dastardly act done to our archaeological resources and collective heritage,” Paz wrote.

Paz, a research associate of the National Museum, said he represents the members of the Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Research Project (PIPRP) team.

Special: The Repatriation of Cambodian artefacts

noelbynature — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:53:25 +0000

Yesterday (10 Mar 2011) I had the brilliant opportunity to witness the return of artefacts smuggled out of Cambodia by the Australian government at a ceremony at the Cambodian embassy in Canberra. The reception was hosted by His Excellency Chum Sounry, the Ambassador for Cambodia.

Repatriated artefacts from Australia to Cambodia

As you can see, the artefacts consist of various bronze adornments, including bracers and bangles, some of which still house the bones of the individuals who wore them. The repatriation is a culmination of a year-long investigation stemming from a listing of some of these artefacts on the auction site eBay, which were traced to an antiquities gallery in Melbourne. Australian customs agents seized a number of artefacts from different origins, among them bronze funerary objects with in-situ human remains. The Cultural Property Division of the Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, with the assistance of Dr Dougald O’Reilly of Heritage Watch (and now also the Australian National University), ANU PhD student Damien Huffer and various archaeological agencies in Southeast Asia ascertained that the most likely origin for these artefacts was Cambodia. Measures were subsequently taken to officially return the seized artefacts to the government of Cambodia.

HE Chum Sounry (right), Ambassador for Cambodia, addressing the reception at the Cambodian Embassy in Canberra

Speaking about the artefacts at the ceremony, Dr O’Reilly noted that the artefacts, dated to about 2,500 years old, represent a not-well-known period of Southeast Asian prehistory, with the current knowledge suggesting that this was a period of increased militarisation in organised settlements and possibly a forerunner to the rise of the civilisation of Angkor. Dr O’Reilly noted that the seized artefacts only represented the tip of the iceberg of looted antiquities from this part of the world, as looters are increasingly turning to prehistoric remains, and that such activity prevented the further understanding of the past when ripped from their contexts.

Ripped is the right word too. Take a look at these artefacts, and you can still see the bones sticking out from them:

Bronze bracelet(?) looted from a prehistoric Cambodian site

A pair of bangled lower leg ornaments, ripped from a burial from an unknown site in Cambodia

You can read a news release from the Australian National University here.
Update (14 March 2011): Read Damien’s personal account here.

Special thanks to Dr. Dougald O’Reilly for letting me attend the ceremony, and to Damien Huffer for the background info.

Truck full of Ming artefacts seized in Vietnam

noelbynature — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:50:42 +0000

A truck laden with artefacts thought to be from China’s Ming dynasty was seized in Vietnam’s Quang Ngai Province.

Ming Dynasty artefacts, Vietnam Net Bridge 28 Aug 2010

Truck on antiques seized
Vietnam Net Bridge, 28 August 2010

Police of the central province of Quang Ngai on August 25 seized a 2.5 ton truck full of antiques, which may belong to Chinaâ€™s Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The truck was going from Binh Chau commune in Quang Ngai province in the central province of Binh Dinh when it was seized.

There were three people in the truck, including the driver, 27, a local man and two women, 50 and 53 years old, from Binh Dinh province. One of them is the truck owner.

Treasure hunter denies any wrongdoing

noelbynature — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:11:51 +0000

Michael Hatcher, the treasure hunter under investigation by the Indonesian government has publicly denied any wrongdoing and claims that the investigation is politically motivated by business rivals.

Treasure Hunter Resurfaces to Deny Theft Allegations
Jakarta Globe, 04 May 2010

Treasure hunter Michael Hatcher has finally broken his silence on the controversy surrounding his activities, even as the police unit investigating allegations of looting says there is no indication he did anything illegal.

Hatcher, 70, told The Times of London that allegations he had looted items from shipwrecks in Indonesian waters were politically motivated.

â€œThereâ€™s no foundation to it,â€ he said in Jakarta. â€œThe people behind this are companies opposed to my companies. They have a crack at me all the time.

â€œMy job takes me to places where you take risks, but one thing I donâ€™t do is screw with the law here.

â€œI donâ€™t want to go to an Indonesian jail.â€

Cambodia's red list of artifacts

noelbynature — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:01:54 +0000

Cambodia has published a red list of artefacts aimed at stemming the looting of artefacts from the country, to be distributed to museums, auction houses and border checkpoints. You can help, too, by supporting local businesses when in Cambodia and not buying marketplace antiquities!

New List Aims to Stem Tide of Cambodian Stolen Antiquities
VOA News, 02 Mar 2010

The items on the Red List range from jewelry and weapons to stone heads and bronze statues. The brochure lists beads from more than 2,000 years back and wooden items from just a century ago.

It is, in short, a comprehensive time capsule of Cambodian artistic achievement.

Douglad O’Reilly is the director of Heritage Watch, an organization set up to combat the plunder of Cambodia’s cultural heritage. O’Reilly says the problem of looting is widespread.

“I think that the problem is fairly substantial. We are finding that in rural areas there is quite a lot of activity. There has been, since about 2000, a significant amount of heritage destruction at archaeological sites that date especially to the period from 500 BC to 500 AD,” he said. “So people are excavating illegally a lot of cemetery sites in the search for carnellian and agate beads and glass beads and other artifacts.”

O’Reilly applauds the idea behind the Red List, saying it has the potential to reduce dramatically the number of items being smuggled across the border — as long as the brochures printed in Khmer and Thai actually reach the officials at the border posts.