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On Looted: The Podcast, we uncover the hidden stories of ancient artifacts and their journeys in the illicit antiquities trade. I’m Zoë Kontes, and I’m an archaeologist. When we archaeologists dig, we carefully record what we find so we can make the best sense of the evidence. But go to any museum, auction house, or dealer with an antiquities collection and you’ll be sure to find objects that have been removed from the ground without this kind of proper excavation. Looting destroys the conte ...
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In this episode archaeologist Dimitri Nakassis talks about two kinds of archaeological work in southern Greece—a pedestrian survey of the countryside, and a salvage excavation of a Mycenaean cemetery. What happens when farmers plow up archaeological material? What can archaeologists learn from tombs that have been looted? What are some ways in whic…
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On the program today we tackle the big question of repatriation and the decades-long debates involving some famous antiquities returned to Italy from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: the Euphronios Krater (pictured) and the Morgantina Silver. More to see, read, and hear: On the krater: Brodie, Neil. “Euphronios (Sarpedon) Krater.” Trafficking Cultur…
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Episode 4: Village Pillage (“Field Notes”)
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Archaeologist Dr. Spencer Pope shares his thoughts on looting in Sicily, particularly at the site of Palikè, a 2400 year old town not far from Catania on Sicily’s east coast, in the fertile plains of the island’s active volcano, Mt Etna. The site has a mystical nature, considered sacred since antiquity due to the bubbling lakes near which it is sit…
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Cleveland Museum of Art There’s nothing like a full-bodied ancient Greek bronze nude to get the crowds to a museum. A visitor might even fall in love (speaking from personal experience—Riace Bronzes, here’s looking at you). We’ll focus on two of these very rare figures, found in US museums, but currently the subject of great debates of identificati…
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Cincinnati Museum of Art Marble figurines made ca. 5000 years ago in the Cycladic Islands of the Aegean became all the rage for collectors, and a great influence in Modernist Art. Easily looted and almost as easily faked, these objects have a unique role in the modern world. The question is, what was their role in the ancient world? More to see, re…
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Listen to the story of a gold funerary wreath, looted from Northern Greece in the 1990s, smuggled into Germany, and eventually purchased by an illustrious U.S. museum. With their abundance of gold and other luxury items, the royal tombs of Macedonia in this area have been the target of looters (and archaeologists) for years. The debates about the V…
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