UNESCO Signs Agreements To Safeguard Iraq's Cultural Heritage
5/28/2013 7:36 PM ET

The United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Iraq have signed three agreements for preservation of cultural heritage in the Middle East nation, it was announced Tuesday.

The agreements for a total amount of some USD 3,400,000 million seek to ensure long-term conservation and sustainability of architectural heritage in the iconic city of Samarra.

It will provide an overall framework for mutual cooperation as well as a management plan for conservation of the Samarra historic urban center, which include developing infrastructure and services in the city.

The three agreements were signed by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Minister of Sunni Endowment of Iraq, Ahmed Abdul Ghafoor Al-Samarai, together with the Governorate of Salah Al Din, represented by the Head of the Samarra Old City Committee, Omar Mohammed Hassan

http://www.rttnews.com/2126113/unesco-signs-agreements-to-safeguard-iraq-s-cultural-heritage.aspx?type=gn&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=sitemap

Stolen-artifacts case has cost much, yielded little

No indictments, returned objects

Associated Press Tue May 28, 2013, 08:14 AM CDT

http://mankatofreepress.com/statenews/x1543055648/Stolen-artifacts-case-has-cost-much-yielded-little

Paleontological Resources Preservation. This Proposed Rule document was issued by the Forest Service (FS)

For related information, Open Docket Folder 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Show agency attachment(s)
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
36 CFR Parts 261 and 291
RIN 0596-AC95
Paleontological Resources Preservation
AgencyForest Service, USDA.

Action
Notice of proposed rule; request for comment.

Summary
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to implement regulations under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 paleontological resources preservation subtitle (the Act). This proposed rule would provide for the preservation, management, and protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, and insure that these resources are available for current and future generations to enjoy as part of America's national heritage. The rule would address the management, collection, and curation of paleontological resources from Federal lands including management using scientific principles and expertise, collecting of resources with and without a permit, curation in an approved repository, maintaining confidentiality of specific locality data, and authorizing penalties for illegal collecting, sale, damaging, or otherwise altering or defacing paleontological resources.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FS_FRDOC_0001-1610

Oakland Man Indicted for Stealing and Disposing of Historic Gold Jewelry Box from Oakland Museum

U.S. Attorney’s Office May 24, 2013

Northern District of California(415) 436-7200
 
OAKLAND, CAundefinedYesterday, a federal grand jury in Oakland indicted Andre Taray Franklin, charging him with theft of major artwork and unlawful concealment and disposition of stolen major artwork, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
 
According to the indictment, Franklin, 45, is alleged to have stolen a jewelry box made of California gold, adorned with richly gold-veined quartz, and made between 1869 and 1878, with a value of at least $100,000, from the Oakland Museum of California, on or about January 7, 2013. In addition, the indictment charges Franklin with unlawfully concealing and disposing of the historic jewelry box between January and February 2013.

http://www.fbi.gov/sanfrancisco/press-releases/2013/oakland-man-indicted-for-stealing-and-disposing-of-historic-gold-jewelry-box-from-oakland-museum

Museums Confront the Skeletons in Their Closets

By DOREEN CARVAJAL

Federal authorities return ancient coins to Bulgaria

NEW YORK – Hundreds of ancient coins that were smuggled into the United States are back in the hands of their rightful owner, the people of Bulgaria. The coins were stolen and smuggled from Bulgaria into the United States for sale to the highest bidder.

At a ceremony today at the Bulgarian Consulate in New York, U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) returned 546 ancient coins to Bulgarian Ambassador Elena Poptodorova.

"It is a special privilege to receive today, on behalf of the Bulgarian people, a part of our rich antique patrimony that was unlawfully taken away from us," said Poptodorova. "I would like to thank both the HSI and CBP for their excellent work and high professionalism in retrieving these valuable ancient coins and returning them to where they belong, their homeland Bulgaria."

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1305/130521newyork.htm

Govt recovers 60 stolen artefacts abroad .
Tuesday, 21 May 2013 00:00 From Abiodun Fagbemi, Ilorin News -
 
 • Warns against illegal museums

IN a major boost towards restoring the country’s cultural heritage, the Federal Government has recovered over 60 stolen artefacts from museums in France, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland and United States (U.S.)

This was disclosed Tuesday in Ilorin by the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman. He added that the nation would continue in its efforts aimed at the total recovery of all its stolen antiquities.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122384:govt-recovers-60-stolen-artefacts-abroad&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

The battle for Egypt’s ancient Roman site, Antinopolis

Archaeologists denounce the “disgraceful” plundering of the city, built by emperor Hadrian

By Francesco Tiradritti. Web only
Published online: 21 May 2013

“It’s a battle,” says Rosario Pintaudi, an Italian archaeologist from the Vitelli Papyrological Institute, Florence. “Groups of children pass by us, grinning, armed with spades with which they dig out artefacts and sell them.”

Leading archaeologists have denounced the poor state of conservation of the Roman remains at Antinopolis in Egypt, the city built by the emperor Hadrian, who ruled Rome from 117AD to 138AD. The revolution that swept through the country in 2011 and the subsequent exit of its president, Hosni Mubarak, who is currently in jail facing corruption charges, have affected the security and conservations of many historical sights in the country, especially those that are far from major city centres. Antinopolis, located near the Nile over 30km south of the nearest large town, Minya, is a perfect target.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/The-battle-for-Egypts-ancient-Roman-site-Antinopolis/29604

When Museums Do the Right Thing

By MARK V. VLASIC and TESS DAVIS
STONES and bones rarely make the front page, and even less frequently in the same month, but this has been no ordinary month. And it’s not over yet.

On May 4, The New York Times announced that the Metropolitan Museum of Art would voluntarily repatriate twin 10th century statues to Cambodia, after the museum received “dispositive” evidence that the pieces were products of the illicit antiquities trade.

A few miles away and a few days later, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security celebrated the not-so-voluntary repatriation of a looted 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar (a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex) to Mongolia, having seized it from a self-described “commercial paleontologist” (and now confessed smuggler) named Eric Prokopi. Taken from the Gobi Desert, the dinosaur bones were seized last year after Prokopi tried to sell them in violation of U.S. and Mongolian law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/opinion/global/when-museums-do-the-right-thing.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print