That week in Jordan changed my mind about looted artifacts

I spent 5 days last fall at a dig site near Petra, and the popular opinion among my team was that any looted artifact should be returned to its original country. After seeing a 2,000 year old Nabataean coin actually stabilizing a local family's income when sold on the black market, I started to disagree. The reality on the ground is that poverty drives this trade, not greed. That coin fed three kids for a month. Has anyone else dealt with this moral gray area where strict archaeological ethics clash with basic human needs?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_martinez217d agoMost Upvoted

Don't you think the coin might have been a fake if it actually fed three kids for a month on what it sold for? Looted Nabataean coins usually go for like 20 or 30 bucks on the black market unless they're in amazing condition. That family probably got scammed and the real profit went to the middleman.

wren_walker627d ago

Totally agree with you Seth! I remember my cousin bought what he thought was a rare Roman coin at a flea market and it turned out to be a reproduction worth maybe five bucks. That family probably got played hard.