Canada: 18 000 Stolen Coins Did Not Make it onto the North American Market as Planned

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This Friday evening at a ceremony at the Canadian Museum of Civilization the Ministry of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages returned the largest ever Canadian seizure of stolen cultural property to the Republic of Bulgaria. Going back were 21,000 coins, pieces of jewellery, and other objects that were illegally exported to Canada and seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Vezhdi Rashidov, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, was present to accept the artefacts from the Government of Canada. Madame Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, came over for the event. The usual speeches were made.

"The RCMP is pleased with this successful outcome. Our team in Montréal has worked long hours to investigate, locate, and retrieve these Bulgarian artifacts," said Bob Paulson, RCMP Deputy Commissioner.

In 2007, Canada Border Services Agency officials detained two imports of cultural property sent by mail from Bulgaria. These imports were referred to Canadian Heritage for further assessment, and the RCMP was asked to investigate. As a result of its investigation, the RCMP seized about 21,000 ancient coins, pieces of jewellery, and other objects in November 2008. In January 2011, the importer formally abandoned the cultural property, clearing the way for the Court ofQuebec to rule under the Criminal Code for the return of the seized antiquities to the Republic of Bulgaria. These objects, many of which were illegally excavated, cover more than 2600 years of the history of Bulgaria. This collection includes more than 18,000 coins, as well as a number of artifacts including bronze eagles, rings, pendants, belt buckles, arrows and spearheads, and bone sewing needles. They represent a mix of Hellenistic, Roman, Macedonian, Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Ottoman cultural heritage.

The "importer" involved in this attempted smuggling was not named. But there are not too many coin dealers selling this kind of stuff in that part of Canada, are there?

Canada and Bulgaria are signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property, under which participating states agree to assist each other in the recovery of illegally exported and stolen cultural property. In Canada, the Convention is implemented through the Cultural Property Export and Import Act [1985], administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Department works closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency to enforce and administer the Act and combat the illicit traffic of cultural property.

Huge numbers of such artefacts flow through the US market annually. In fact a substantial portion of the market seems to have been initiated by the flow of masses of cheap dugup coins precisely from Bulgaria. The USA and Bulgaria are signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property, under which participating states agree to assist each other in the recovery of illegally exported and stolen cultural property. In the United States, the Convention is implemented through the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act 1983, administered by the Department of State (unlike countries like Canada, the USA has no Ministry of American Heritage). Despite this, very few shipments of looted coins and artefacts stripped from archaeological sites by gangs of criminals have ever been stopped at the US border, or investigated, located and retrieved by US law enforcement agencies (DHS, FBI etc).

Lesser, but still substantial numbers of such artefacts flow through the UK market annually and are openly sold alongside (and sometimes masquerading as) local finds obtained by metal detector use according to Britain's all-too-lax laws. The UK and Bulgaria are signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property, under which participating states agree to assist each other in the recovery of illegally exported and stolen cultural property. In the United Kingdom, the Convention is implemented through the Dealing in Cultural property (Offences) Act 2003, administered by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. Despite this, very few shipments of looted coins and artefacts stripped from archaeological sites by gangs of criminals have ever been stopped at the UK border, or investigated, located and retrieved by UK law enforcement agencies.

So well done Canada for doing what neither the UK nor the USA can be bothered to do for fear of upsetting the local collectors and dealers.

Source: Government of Canada Returns Its Largest Ever Seizure of Cultural Property to the Republic of Bulgaria

Vignette: RCMP commemorative coin (8000 minted).

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On an Early Medieval Cemetery Trashed in Croatia

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I was notified about this by Richard "Sheddy" Lincoln, UK metal detectorist who has on many occasions shown himself to be a notorious trouble maker. His motives notifying me are as clear as his for putting it on his Facebook page (a few American history activists on there who would be very interested ... and bloody outraged!). Here's what he wrote there (note no name given, no indication which Museum was involved - or not):

From a friend in Croatia. He's a metal detectorist who does things the right way; for him it's about the recovery and preservation of artefacts from damaging non-contextual layers - i.e. ploughsoil and area's about to be developed. He has... an extensive record of every identifiable item that he has recovered and has written a few reference books to assist others in identification of finds. Here's what he has written about these finds:

Some of you will have been to Nuštar, the village where I do most of my detecting. Well they are making a new soccer field next to the park. they had scraped the surface level and i planned to go on when the freeze let up. Meanwhile, they dug the foundations for the stand and found a lot of regular dark shapes. They turned out to be g...raves. Instead of informing the museum or quietly bulldozing them, they told the mayor of the village who got the graveyard workers to dig them (this is of course illegal). they dug fifteen graves and cleared the goods out before I got to hear about it. I asked the workers and site officails what they had found other than bones and they said they thought the grave was from the first world war or just before. I insisted on seeing what was found and was directed to the Chapel of Rest in Nuštar cemetery. All the bones from the graves were mixed together in binbags. I asked if they hadn't informed the museum and was told the museum wasn't interested. Then I saw that they had a plastic carrier bag with some bronze objects. I was amazed to see that they were Avar culture, from the 7- 8th century. I photographed the material, then took the decision to inform the museum, or at least ask if they had heard anything.

The archie I spoke to couldn't look me in the eye of course, and I got the feeling that the museum knew, but were turning a blind eye. I handed over the photos, so now they have to move on it, but we'll see.

These are the remains of steppe nomads (like the mongols) who came here in the 6th-8th century. That large piece is actually a belt end. Now I know why the buckle is hinged, it's so the belt end can be passed through.

This story went up yesterday on a metal detecting forum. In reaction a metal detecting inarticulate called "simonthesearcher" ("trying to be a Valued Member") ejaculates: Disgracefull,,Barford,if your reading ,nice one,lets hear what you got to say about this then . It is unclear why he addresses his "nice one" comment to me.

Well, this metal detecting "friend" in Croatia turns out to be former soldier Steve Gaunt (Cibalia). In November last year Mr Gaunt was in court because of some conflict with the staff of a Croatian museum about his metal detecting. ("charged me with the misdemeanor of failing to inform the authorities of finding items of cultural value. I will be fighting even this minor charge and am well prepared for my day in court. It's an important day for Croatian detectorists!"). I missed whether the verdict has been announced.

It would be interesting to know whether the museum which is the subject of this complaint which Mr Gaunt is now egging his British metal detecting mates to publicise for him is the same one with which he is currently in conflict. It would be interesting to know more about the background to this.

As for Mr Gaunt's comment, while the material is of Avar style, there is no "steppe" in Nuštar, these belts were a symbol of being part of a certain lifestyle, and - in themselves - are no more ethnically indicative than the fact I am writing this in Levi's bluejeans. This Kossinnist fixation on ethnic labelling of artefacts is however common in the artefact-collecting world.

Mr Gaunt's 'Ex Preteritus' website is interesting and clearly deeply influenced by British justifications for hoiking it all out. It purports

"to be a register of accidental antique finds from the Danube region of Hungary and Croatia [...] Developments in farming technology and the growth of chemical use means that many unknown sites and artefacts are in great danger of completely disappearing before they are discovered. Items that have laid in the ground for a thousand years or more quickly deteriorate after they are disturbed and action must be quickly taken to save them.
At Ex Preteritus, we try to register finds from possible ancient sites under risk, usually recovered artefacts from the topsoil that would otherwise be destroyed. We also attempt to register casual finds made by individuals. This site features items recovered from plough soil all over the region. None of the artefacts came from registered or protected sites, or have been dug out of archaeological layers, but come from the surface of ordinary ploughed land.
Hopefully, these artefacts and coins will be of interest to the local museums of the region and we encourage them to make contact regarding the items catalogued on this site.

This artificial fertiliser argument is the usual standby for British detectorists too and - despite what artefact hunters and their supporters claim - has no basis in verifiable fact. The website may be an attempt at creating a 'register' of what he and his mates have found, but not a single location is given for the findspot of any of the items illustrated. That and asking (in English, not Croatian) museums to contact him if they see anything they fancy (rather than the finder reporting them) may raise a few eyebrows, and is not really what I would consider as "doing things the right way". Also I note that Mr Gaunt has several Avar style belt fittings shown on the website - obviously he has no problem with them being recovered by metal detecting, only when taken out of the ground by somebody else.

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