Tiny Spanish Village Hopes to Profit From Antiquities Thief

by Dave Seminara on

Should a town have the right to display looted antiquities stolen by one of its residents? According to an intriguing piece by Suzanne Daley in The New York Times this morning, the mayor of tiny Aranda de Moncayo, Spain, population 200, thinks they should. A 60-year-old village resident named Ricardo Granada unearthed some 4,000 antiquities using primitive implements, like a metal detector and a backhoe, from a 2,000 years old settlement called Aratikos near his home.

Granada was arrested in March after Spanish authorities were tipped off about two bronze helmets he tried to sell at an auction in Germany. The mayor of the village told The Times that she wanted to see a full archeological excavation of the site, followed by the construction of a small museum, which she believes would draw tourists to the village. It isn’t clear from the story whether the museum would display only newly unearthed antiquities or also the ones already plundered by Granada, but the story raises the murky ethical question of what type of artifacts museums should be allowed to exhibit.Scores of world-famous museums, including the British Museum, New York Museum of Metropolitan Art and Malibu’s J. Paul Getty Villa, have been ensnared in controversies surrounding the provenance of some of their antiquities. According to an estimate by the Archaeological Institute of America, published in a story on the Verge earlier this year, some 85-90 percent of “classical and certain other types of artifacts on the market do not have a documented provenance.”

But is there any difference between items plundered by an invading army or colonial power versus antiquities nabbed by a guy out wandering around after dark with a metal detector? It may not seem very fair for a village to profit from the fact that one of its residents was a thief, but I would visit this museum if it opened. I like to see treasures where they were actually unearthed rather than in a big city museum, far away from their origin. Would you have any ethical qualms about patronizing a museum exhibiting looted antiquities? What do you think Spanish authorities should do with the treasures Granada unearthed?

Yuka The Woolly Mammoth Goes On Display In Japan (VIDEO)

by Sean McLachlan on


A 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth has gone on display in Yokohama, Japan.

Dubbed “Yuka,” the mammoth died at the age of 10 and was frozen in the Russian snow until it was discovered three years ago. Yuka is the best preserved example of her species, which went extinct across most of its range around 10,000 years ago. Isolated populations survived for centuries thereafter, as late as 4,000 years ago on Wrangel Island. Jack London even wrote a fictional short story about hunting a modern-day mammoth. It’s a fun read and very different than the fiction he’s generally remembered for.

Getting back to science, a Nature World News article on the woolly mammoth says that liquid blood was found in the corpse, bringing up the possibility of cloning. Several attempts have been made to clone the DNA of other mammoth carcasses, with no success.

The exhibition continues until September 16.

Secret Toilet Discovered In Scottish Castle

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists working on a conservation project at Drum Castle near Aberdeen, Scotland, have discovered two secret chambers, one of which includes a medieval toilet complete with its wooden seat.

Drum Castle features a 13th-century castle keep that’s the oldest intact example in Scotland. Besides the hidden toilet, the team found a second secret chamber that’s reputed to have been where one of the men of the clan hid out for three years after the defeat at the Battle of Culloden. The chamber with the toilet was hidden by bookshelves installed in the 19th century, while the second chamber was a real-life safe room for rebellious Scots. Both were found in the medieval keep.

From 1323-1975, Drum Castle was the seat of the Chief of Clan Irvine. In addition to the keep, the property features Jacobean and Victorian additions. It is now open to visitors and is only 10 miles outside Aberdeen. Visitors can see the historic interior and stroll through the surrounding ancient oak woodland, a rare survival of primeval forest that’s been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Ancient Native American Mound To Be Destroyed To Build Sam’s Club

by Sean McLachlan on

It’s been a tough year for ancient monuments, what with subway workers in China accidentally demolishing 3000-year-old tombs, a limestone quarry destroying part of the Nazca Lines, and pyramids in Peru and Belize being bulldozed by “developers.”

Now Alabama is getting in on the game. The city of Oxford, Alabama, has approved the destruction of a mound of stones and the hill on which it stands in order to use the dirt as fill for a Sam’s Club site. City mayor Leon Smith says it’s a natural formation and was only used to send smoke signals, but the State Historical Commission disagrees and says it’s about 1,500 years old and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Artificial earthen and stone mounds were common features of prehistoric Native American civilizations and are found in many parts of North America. Some were used for burials while others appear to have been ritual sites. There have already been protests against the destruction.

For more on this issue, check out this article by The Institute for Southern Studies, which includes many links to local newspaper articles and official reports.

Archaeologists Continue To Explore Richard III’s Burial Site

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists stunned the world four months ago when they announced they had discovered the remains of King Richard III beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England. The site was once the Franciscan friary of the Grey Friars and now the same team has reopened the excavation to explore more of the building and its burials, the University of Leicester announced.

Already they’ve discovered more of the building, as well as some of its decoration such as these medieval tiles.

The excavation will last four weeks and a viewing platform will allow the public to watch as the archaeologists look for the friary’s foundations as well as the tomb of a 14th-century knight who records show was buried there. Sir William Moton was interred there in 1362 and during the dig for Richard they found the edge of what might be the knight’s stone coffin.

Richard III was the last of the Plantagenet line and fought the Tudors during the War of the Roses for control of England. He was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Support for the Plantagenet line crumbled and soon Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII.

A museum about King Richard III and the discovery of his remains will open in Leicester next year.