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[1] Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea
Scrolls, L. Schiffman and J. VanderKam, eds., New York: Oxford
University Press, 2 vols. The text that appears in the Encyclopedia
was taken from the official minutes of ASOR and was provided by the main
office of ASOR at Boston University in preparation for this article.
[2] Communicated to me by Morag Kersel who is writing her dissertation at the University of Cambridge on this subject and is a past fellow at the Albright Institute. Here is part of her response to me: "My research has shown that licensed dealers are able to sell looted material by exchanging the registry numbers of items already sold with those of a similar description that have newly appeared on the market. For example, when a tourist purchases a Herodian oil lamp, registry number 147, from an officially sanctioned dealer, he or she receives a certificate of authenticity (supplied by the dealer) and an export license (but only if the tourist remembers to ask for one) issued by the IAA. Both a description of the item and the official registry number appear on the export license. If the tourist does not acquire an export license, the dealer can then reuse the registry number since there is no formal record of the sale. The dealer has another Herodian oil lamp in his stores very similar in size, color, and design to lamp number 147. He then assigns the second oil lamp the registry number 147 and places it among his inventory to be sold. This is common practice verified through a series of interviews with dealers, archaeologists, and representatives of the IAA" (dated 11.13.04).[3] Ms. Kersel suggests in another communiqué the following: "In many of my interviews with Israeli archaeologists and government employees, it is the general consensus that the laws have to be changed and most people are unhappy with the current situation. That being said, no one is willing to propose amendments until the political climate changes. What they are most worried about at the moment is the situation with the ultra-orthodox and human remains. Once the doors are open to changing the laws banning a legal trade, it may also open the door for banning the study of biological remains. At the moment, Shuka Dorfman (the head of IAA) has an agreement with the religious faction to hand over human remains thought to be of Jewish origin, but it's not the law. The analogy you make with the CPIA is very similar to the situation in Israel" (dated 11.14.04). For a more detailed presentation of Ms. Kersels views, see her forthcomming essay "From the Ground to the Buyer: A Market Analysis of the Illegal Trade" in Antiquities, in Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and the Trade in Antiquities, N. Brodie, M. Kersel, C. Luke, and K.W. Tubb, eds. The University of Florida Press.[4] These suggestions come as a result of my conversations with Patty Gerstenblith and Bonnie Gardiner who is currently Consulting Archaeologist to the US department of State’s Cultural Property Office. I am grateful to each of them for their insights into the matter of Iraq’s cultural property.
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