My sister said the new Egyptian tomb find is just grave robbing with a permit...

We were watching a show about that big discovery in Luxor last month, the one with the 3,000 year old jewelry. She said archaeologists are basically taking stuff that isn't theirs and putting it in a glass case instead of a tomb. It hit different because she's usually so quiet about my work. Now I'm stuck between thinking we're preserving history for everyone or just being the final looters. What's your take on where that line is?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey9431d ago

That Luxor find had 300 pieces of jewelry just sitting in damp dirt. If they left it there, the next people on site would be actual looters with shovels, not scientists with brushes.

paul_stone411d ago

Man, you're so right @casey943. I saw a documentary where they showed how fast word gets out on these dig sites, and then the place gets swarmed at night. If the pros don't grab it, it's just gone forever into some private collection. That damp dirt would ruin those pieces quick, too. It's not like they're just picking up loose change, they're saving the whole context of the find.