Heritage for Sale? A Case Study from Israel

Abstract

The state-sponsored sale of archaeological objects is sometimes offered by persons from states rich in antiquities as a quick fix for budgetary problems, as a solution to storage crises, or as a way to combat the destruction of archaeological sites by looting. The state-run sale can be viewed as a compromise between those who support a free trade in antiquities and those who oppose it. In 2003, a daily newspaper in Israel reported that a scheme of this nature was under consideration by the Israel Antiquities Authority-the body responsible for safeguarding the antiquities of Israel. In this paper we trace the history of legislation concerning legal trade in antiquities in Palestine since the Ottoman Antiquities Law of 1884. We show that the concept of the state-run sale of antiquities finds its origins in the laws of the British Mandate period. Archival evidence indicates that the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (the forerunner to the Israel Antiquities Authority) toyed with the same concept in the 1950s. Data from the study of archival documents, as well as ethnographic interviews, raise doubts about the ethical and practical sides of the state-run sale of antiquities, a misguided concept that we feel must be rejected.

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