BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq (news - web sites), torn apart by years of war and sanctions, remains so rich in hidden ancient wonders that a leading expert believes the world's archaeology books will have to be rewritten over the next decade.
As security improves to allow excavation, evidence may emerge that advanced societies existed in the area much earlier than previously thought, said Dr John Russell, professor of archaeology at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.
"A decade of research in Iraq could rewrite the books of archaeology, no question," Russell, who is currently serving as a senior adviser to Iraq's ministry of culture, told Reuters on Thursday at the opening of new conservation and restoration laboratory at Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad.
"There is just a phenomenal amount of history in this country and much of it is yet to be discovered. But over time it will be and we'll have to totally rethink what we know."
TALKING ABOUT FAKES
In his article "Snake Goddeses, Fake Godesses" (January/February 2001), Kenneth D.S. Lapatin recounted how, in late May 1903, Arthur Evans discovered two large rectangular stone-lined cists at the Minoan site of Knossos on Crete. Most striking of the artifacts he found within were the remains of faience statuettes depicting female snake handlers, which Evans considered to be goddesses and priestesses. These extraordinary finds, however, soon gave rise to a number of fakes. Lapatin's book on the subject, Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History (2002), has now appeared in paperback form (Da Capo Press, $16.95). ARCHAEOLOGY's executive editor, Mark Rose, recently spoke to Lapatin, now assistant curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, about the book and the subject of fakes in general.
Particularly of interest is this quote: "In my view, the only effective way to stop forgery, like looting, is not to try to cut off production, but rather to starve it, that is to say, to change the behavior, the desire, of consumers."
Never gonna happen. People want this stuff. The only way to stem demand is to devalue the objects, but this being art, value is defined by rarity, quality, and the inherent valuation put on objects by collectors. Rarity is almost definitional here, quality is of course, variable, and when collectors determine value there's just no stopping it. You might as well try to stop the demand for Da Vinci paintings.
From the Love 'Em to Death files: Visitors have ruined part of Ruins over the years
COOLIDGE - "When people come to visit the Casa Grande Ruins, they expect to see something special."
These words, delivered by Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Facilities Director Heber Golden, address the conundrum faced daily by workers at the preservation site: to encourage publicity and visitation, yet at the same time protect the fragile ruins from the very patrons who keep it alive.
"We need to have visitors, especially out-of-state support," Golden added. "But the public can affect ruins in a negative way, as well." Years of tours within the Big House resulted in worn floors, weakened walls and graffiti, leading to the eventual closure of the Hohokam structure to the public in 1973. Nonetheless, thousands of visitors still flock to the Casa Grande Ruins.