Criminology and Archaeology

This collection is the product of a collaborative venture between criminologists and archaeologists concerned with the international market in illicit antiquities. It examines the state of regulation in the antiquities market, with a particular focus on the UK's position, but also with reference to the international context.

Looting happens routinely and many countries have rich deposits of cultural material. Antiquities are highly collectable, and there are several prominent international centres for trade. As well as the legitimate face of the antiquities trade there therefore exists an international illicit market in which cultural objects are trafficked for profit in breach of national laws and international conventions.

It is within such a complex international and local regulatory context that the essays presented here emerge, focusing upon three areas in particular: the demand for looted antiquities; the supply of cultural artefacts which originate in source countries; and regulation of the international market in antiquities.

Criminology has long been interested in transnational crime and its regulation. Archaeologists' concerns lie in the destructive consequences of antiquities looting, which erases our knowledge of the past. In the papers presented here both disciplines present new data and analysis to forge a more coherent understanding of the nature and failings of the regulatory framework currently in place to combat the criminal market in antiquities.

Introduction: A Context for the Engagement of Criminology and Archaeology
SIMON MACKENZIE AND PENNY GREEN
Part I: Criminology and the Market for Looted Antiquities
1. Whither Criminology in the Study of the Traffic in Illicit Antiquities?
KENNETH POLK
Part II: Demand for Looted Antiquities
2. Antiquities, Forests, and Simmel's Sociology of Value
TONY WARD
3. Consensual Relations? Academic Involvement in the Illegal Trade in Ancient Manuscripts
NEIL BRODIE
4. Border Controls in Market Countries as Disincentives to Antiquities Looting at Source? The US–Italy Bilateral Agreement 2001 .
GORDON LOBAY
Part III: Supply of Looted Antiquities
5. The United Kingdom as a Source Country: Some Problems in Regulating the Market in UK Antiquities and the Challenge of the Internet
ROGER BLAND
6. Crime Goes Underground: Crimes against Historical Sites and Remains in Sweden
LINDA KÄLLMAN AND LARS KORSELL
Part IV: Regulation and the Market in Looted Antiquities
7. The Paradox of Regulation: The Politics of Regulating Global Markets
DAVID WHYTE
8. Criminalising the Market in Illicit Antiquities: An Evaluation of the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 in England and Wales
SIMON MACKENZIE AND PENNY GREEN

“I have nothing but praise for the overall effort of the book to suggest a promising relationship between criminology and archaeology as well as for the information on the illicit market in antiquities provided by the individual papers.” –  Sawyer Sylvester, Law and Politics Book Review

“This reviewer would argue that, despite some of the more theoretical contributions being challenging to someone without a background in criminology, they should be required reading for anyone who feels moved to comment on, or is in a position to influence, the framing or application of laws or regulations relating to what is an abhorrent and destructive trade.” –  Pete Wilson, Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites Journal, Volume 12, Number 4