This has made the rounds of several lists and several folks have sent it to me as well:
As many of you know, the United States and Cyprus have had a bilateral
agreement for almost five years that restricts the import into the
United States of undocumented archaeological materials from Cyprus.
The Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) in the U.S. Department
of State considered extension of this agreement on Thursday and
Friday, January 25 and 26 (see the AIA's letter in support of this
request on its website: www.archaeological.org). A large delegation
from Cyprus and from the Cypriot Embassy was in attendance, including
*Andreas Kakouris, *the new Cypriot ambassador to the U.S., and Pavlos
Flourentzos, Director of Antiquities.
The question of whether coins should be included in the new agreement
arose, and the Committee is now seeking public comment on whether
coins should be included. Cyprus has asked that coins be included
because it considers coins to have considerable archaeological
significance when found in context, and, like other such materials,
they are vulnerable to pillage and illegal export. The proposal is to
include in the new bilateral agreement coins found in Cyprus that are
more than 250 years old.
CPAC Is now accepting letters supporting (or opposing) the inclusion
of coins. The deadline of Monday, February 5, for them to receive
letters is very short. We urge those who care about this issue to
email or fax letters supporting the inclusion of coins.
Your letters should address some or all of the following points:
1. Are coins part of a country's cultural patrimony and does the
looting of coins jeopardize a country's cultural patrimony?
2. Is scientific excavation of coins important to archaeology and the
reconstruction of social, political, and economic history?
3. Does the search for coins to sell on the market destroy sites and
archaeological context (and therefore jeopardize the country's
cultural patrimony) through metal detecting and other looting activities?
4. Specific points based on personal experience and specific examples
involving Cypriot coins would be particularly helpful.
The deadline for submitting a letter is Monday, February 5. Letters
must be either faxed or sent by email to the Committee at the address
below. Please take a minute and communicate your thoughts to them.
Cultural Property Advisory Committee
Cultural Heritage Center
U.S. Department of State
301 4th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20547
E-mail: culprop AT state.gov
Fax: (202) 453-8803
For the record, the AIA's letter of support doesn't mention coins, but they do have a version of the above letter online (that page also has links to some useful past articles on Cypriot archaeology) ...
Personally, I think the AIA should be looking at the success of the UK's Portable Antiquities Scheme and start rethinking their zero tolerance policy ...
As many of you know, the United States and Cyprus have had a bilateral
agreement for almost five years that restricts the import into the
United States of undocumented archaeological materials from Cyprus.
The Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) in the U.S. Department
of State considered extension of this agreement on Thursday and
Friday, January 25 and 26 (see the AIA's letter in support of this
request on its website: www.archaeological.org). A large delegation
from Cyprus and from the Cypriot Embassy was in attendance, including
*Andreas Kakouris, *the new Cypriot ambassador to the U.S., and Pavlos
Flourentzos, Director of Antiquities.
The question of whether coins should be included in the new agreement
arose, and the Committee is now seeking public comment on whether
coins should be included. Cyprus has asked that coins be included
because it considers coins to have considerable archaeological
significance when found in context, and, like other such materials,
they are vulnerable to pillage and illegal export. The proposal is to
include in the new bilateral agreement coins found in Cyprus that are
more than 250 years old.
CPAC Is now accepting letters supporting (or opposing) the inclusion
of coins. The deadline of Monday, February 5, for them to receive
letters is very short. We urge those who care about this issue to
email or fax letters supporting the inclusion of coins.
Your letters should address some or all of the following points:
1. Are coins part of a country's cultural patrimony and does the
looting of coins jeopardize a country's cultural patrimony?
2. Is scientific excavation of coins important to archaeology and the
reconstruction of social, political, and economic history?
3. Does the search for coins to sell on the market destroy sites and
archaeological context (and therefore jeopardize the country's
cultural patrimony) through metal detecting and other looting activities?
4. Specific points based on personal experience and specific examples
involving Cypriot coins would be particularly helpful.
The deadline for submitting a letter is Monday, February 5. Letters
must be either faxed or sent by email to the Committee at the address
below. Please take a minute and communicate your thoughts to them.
Cultural Property Advisory Committee
Cultural Heritage Center
U.S. Department of State
301 4th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20547
E-mail: culprop AT state.gov
Fax: (202) 453-8803
For the record, the AIA's letter of support doesn't mention coins, but they do have a version of the above letter online (that page also has links to some useful past articles on Cypriot archaeology) ...
Personally, I think the AIA should be looking at the success of the UK's Portable Antiquities Scheme and start rethinking their zero tolerance policy ...