Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/09/25/looted-ancient-egyptian-coffin.html
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Hmm… To “be” or not to “be”, is that in the title?
Title originally read:
Looted ancient Egyptian coffin will finally returned to Egypt
Should it be
Looted ancient Egyptian coffin will finally returned to Egypt
or
Looted ancient Egyptian coffin will finally be returned to Egypt
Should that guy in the last photo be handling it with his bare hands?
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A looted coffin, as opposed to one where the government officials were properly paid off in the 1930s.
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Had to read the article to see if it was another artifact smuggled by the CEO of Hobby Lobby.
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I suspect that many of the remaining antiquities are now fake. Replaced while still in the museums with convincing fakes - the originals log disappeared into private collections.
Third biggest illegal trade after drugs and guns is antiquities…
Here’s one that we just got returned to India after lots and lots of hard work: Retrieved Nataraja idol on way back to Kallidaikurichi temple
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Well I hope they take better care of it than the other stuff.
It’s like giving Alabama rednecks priceless artifacts that upset their view of evolution.
You’re just a street protest away from losing this stuff to Fundamentalist religious fanatics. It’s happened before.
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At this point: Yeah, just return the stuff. All of it. Any exhibitions should be done on a loan basis between states. Let them handle their history, as we handle ours.
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You also have to remember all Egyptian artifacts and mummies are “Looted”
Every single one was looted. Well except for ones we haven’t discovered yet.
We’re just haggling over who did the looting here.
They didn’t just waddle into the Egyptian Museum on their own. They were dug up and ‘looted’.
/there’s a Terry Pratchett reference in there if you find it.
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That’s why I wrote “all of it”. While these artifacts are nice to look at, I simply don’t care anymore. Let them take care of it.
finding curves in a straight line is daunting
Nice use of “they” here.
These photos are from the old Cairo Museum. A new museum is supposed to open in 2020, and the plan is to move much of the old Cairo Museum’s artifacts there:
But when enough people in a society lack belief in the importance of such collected cultural artifacts (or find other beliefs more compelling to them), the artifacts are open to destruction or looting for cash value. Institutions like museums may seem permanent but they can of course be swept away by any society that no longer believes in them or whatever their stated mission is.
As someone pointed out in the comments on the Cimabue, the French Revolution saw mass destruction and looting of artworks from churches, in a society pervaded by the Catholic church, the state religion.
If they want to keep them safe, perhaps they should store them in some secure underground facility?
Top men should look into this.
TOP MEN.
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I’m not at all opposed to collecting and displaying these items. Though I wonder if replicas of some unique items wouldn’t be safer.
Just scan the stuff and return it to the countries of their origin, especially if they are unique and irreplaceable. Unless they were explicitly brought or sold for commerce.
To claim that Egyptians or Mexicans or whomever can’t safeguard their artifacts is a bit parochial.
At this point I’d assume any curse has probably worn off, so I wouldn’t worry.
…or imported by Theodosius I in the 4th century.
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Yeah, I was kind of thinking that too. This was truly heartbreaking…
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I’m looking at YOU British Museum. Those Elgin Marbles are the Greek’s property, not yours.
