Tourists \'stripping ancient Rome bare\'

[Theodosius the Great]

This should piss you off :

Tourists 'stripping ancient Rome bare'


Just goes to show that not only governments can be destructive to ancient monuments - the masses do their share as well.
Never did like tourists :x

~Theo

[Jona Lendering]

It's inevitable but, yes, it is terrible.

[MARCVS PETRONIVS MAIVS]

For such a site, I find the lack of security disturbing.

Tourists are and always will be a problem, but where it not for their interest I doubt the sites would still exist in the first place. Let us remember we are also tourists when visiting these sites, wether more enlightened than the common folk or nto does not matter.

It is up to the governments of each country do deal with this issue. Giving the rich historical heritage of the Italians, it troubles me this is allowed to happen.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Probably why the greeks 'over react' whenever someone picks up things at archaological sites.

[Memmia]

The same happened here with stonehenge, tourists even used to be able to buy a small hammer from the local blacksmith in order to chip off lumps of stone. Farmers also used stones for building etc.
Nowadays you can't get up close to the monument as it is roped off. Maybe they need to put up alarmed fences in front of the monuments in Rome .It's a shame as people who have a real interest will miss out on seeing small details close up. Although if this vandalism carries on, there won't be much left for people to see.

[markusaurelius]

You should see Pompeii. People actually carve our their names into the beautiful paintings on the walls of the villas. Something lasts fro 2000 years and all it takes is some little puke to carve his name into a painting. It is far too unrestricted at Pompeii as well.....

[Historylover]

That is indeed horrible...sadly its not just limited to Ancient items. The Fallschirmjager Monument that was erected in Crete after the Germans finally took the Island from the British is regularly defaced and no one seems to care...someone needs to at least buy the durn thing and put it in a museum.

Also here, on Veterans Day abunch of pukes decided to go through Arlington Cemetery and set fire to all the American Flags that friends and family had so carefully placed at each head stone.

While not done by tourists I would definitely say it fits under the same category...vandalism thats what all of these accounts are. All the best, Jon

[Mark Headlee]

Also here, on Veterans Day abunch of pukes decided to go through Arlington Cemetery and set fire to all the American Flags that friends and family had so carefully placed at each head stone.

What!!!!! hock:

[Mark Headlee]

Not even the dead, both ancient and modern, are safe from the stupidity of the living. Man, what a way to start a day...

[Historylover]

Sorry I got the place and the day wrong but the vandalism still applies see here:

http://ballyblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/ ... ar-philly/

All the best, Jon

[Hibernicus]

It's the "gimmees" .. give me mine! ....a misplaced sense of entitlement ... if it's important they'd guard it or lock it up...

However, there's nothing like a pile of modern rubble raked up against the base of walls... unwatched.. especially if the rubble contains plaster or stucco bits with color on them or broken terra cotta tiles or mosaic tidbits...

:wink:

[caiusbeerquitius]

I wonder why people get so upset about this, just because it is Rome. The press could fill whole newspapers with reports about looted archaeological sites every day. As long as there is a market for it, crime goes on. What is particularly upsetting, is that certain companies earn a lot of money this way, and that nothing is done against it. And everyone here on this board owning original artifacts from the market can pull at his own nose, in that sense. Like it or not.

[Sean Manning]

I wonder why people get so upset about this, just because it is Rome. The press could fill whole newspapers with reports about looted archaeological sites every day. As long as there is a market for it, crime goes on. What is particularly upsetting, is that certain companies earn a lot of money this way, and that nothing is done against it. And everyone here on this board owning original artifacts from the market can pull at his own nose, in that sense. Like it or not.

I think vandalism is even worse than looting because its so pointless. At least the looters get something for their criminal troubles. But its a very old problem: Greek mercenaries scratched things like "Dion son of Archilocus was here" on ancient Egyptian monuments in the sixth century BCE! I agree with you that buying ancient artefacts is wrong unless you are certain that they were scientifically excavated.

[caiusbeerquitius]

I think vandalism is even worse than looting because its so pointless. At least the looters get something for their criminal troubles. But its a very old problem: Greek mercenaries scratched things like "Dion son of Archilocus was here" on ancient Egyptian monuments in the sixth century BCE!

But looting IS vandalism. The looters destroy unknown archaeological context. In a sense, it is worse than vandalism, since the monuments with the Greek scratchings, or the wall paintings in Pompeji with tourist´s inscriptions have at least been documented before or after they were damaged. If context is destroyed, nothing is gained at all.

Some argue that objects are saved from destruction by modern fertilizers, some say that otherwise unkonwn objects wouldn´t be known (like a unknown helmet type, e.g.), and other apologies can be found. In fact, none of these are really valid, since for archaeologists the gathering of informations and context is important, not individual findings. For archaeology it is worse to loose context of a site than to loose an individual helmet. There is a huge conflict of interest here, and as usual the side where more money is wins. In this case a criminal market getting items from criminal looters (thieves) which are destroying all we claim to like.
And finally, where´s the point in personally owning a Roman artefact? Isn´t a copy good enough?

One should always think of this, when one sees something nice on ebay or similar places. And one should not buy it, at least not if one claims to love history. For buying in the market and claiming an interest in the subject does not work. At least it does not work in an honourable way, i.e. if you do, you are not telling the truth. And don´t tell yourself: Ah, it´s only one little item, how bad can that be? there´s so much more out there. In fact, EACH item is destroyed context, and EACH item is at least a hole in the ground of an archaeological site.

[Iagoba]

I agree completely with that. Every thing that it´s digged, it´s lost, and the amount of sites is limited. When all will be wasted, what we´ll do to know more? :evil:

I gave time ago all my collection of roman findings (tons of terra sigilata a bit of red fresco, anphorae handles, even an pottery piece with a graffitti hock: ) to the archeology museum. With the locations given in map, of course. I was eight years old but I still remember where I found all!

Also I gave them two pices of decorated metal plates, that probably can be related to some VII century graves (Dark Age here. Very dark.). One day I´ll post the photos. I was lucky enough to ask questions to the archeologist who directed the research.

I hope what I did will be of help. I can do little more, butt it´s great to know you done what you can. :wink: