Illicit trafficking of cultural objects: the case of Cyprus

Abstract

Rampant unregulated excavation, at a time when archaeological practice was still unknown, opened the way to massive exportation of cultural objects from Cyprus, in parallel with other countries under the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. As ‘antiquarianism’ was concomitant with the beginnings of tourism, places with a rich cultural heritage became popular destinations or stopovers for the steamships. Collecting ‘antikas’ and ‘exploring’ was a pastime of the affluent, and the objects themselves were tokens of prestige, as, by tradition, they continued to be until the very recent past. The demand, not only by private individuals but also by newly established institutions, in the absence of what may now be termed ‘due diligence’, sustained availability. This dispersal forced the Cypriot Ottoman authorities to pass rudimentary legislation: its non-enforcement, however, allowed the trading of antiquities to continue unabated. During British Rule, while some regulations were in place, concerns of a different kind continued to allow the export and sale of antiquities. Bi-communal strife in the early 1960s, shortly after Independence, created sources of illicitly excavated objects which again, found their way into collections within the island or abroad. A second wave of Cypriot cultural heritage destruction followed the invasion of the island by Turkish troops in 1974: a large part of the island in the north was left unprotected and victim to both well-trained and untrained looters. Given this background, Cyprus is faced with a herculean task in remedying the situation. Despite a series of strict antiquities laws and the application of a number of preventive measures, the battle against illicit trading remains, and the past continues to haunt the present.