Listen to the story of a gold funerary wreath, looted from Northern Greece in the 1990s, smuggled into Germany, and eventually purchased by an illustrious U.S. museum. With their abundance of gold and other luxury items, the royal tombs of Macedonia in this area have been the target of looters (and archaeologists) for years. The debates about the VIPs who may or may not be interred within (the father of Alexander the Great, for one) continue, and demonstrate the essential importance of archaeological context.
More to see, read and hear:
Andronikos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nka62V7PRs4
Zirganos:
‘Operation Eclipse,’ in P. Watson and C. Todeschini, The Medici Conspiracy (2007), 306-324.
LA Times:
http://articles.latimes.com/print/2006/dec/11/local/me-getty11
PRI:
http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-03-14/protecting-greece-antiquities-lean-times
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