[CPProt.net] New law opens Greece to scuba looters

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

New law opens Greece to scuba looters
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by HELENA SMITH

ATHENS, Greece (6 Dec 2005) -- When it was first proposed, it seemed like a
good idea: open up the Greek seas to divers and create a paradise for
tourists underwater. Those who backed the law never thought of it as a
windfall for looters, nor did it occur to them that it might put the
acquisition policies of museums under further scrutiny.

But the Greek parliament's unprecedented step last month to allow divers
access to the once forbidden coastline has raised fears that archaeological
riches preserved in an untouched world will be taken by ruthless thieves.

"There are treasures in our seas," says Dimitris Athanasoulis, president of
the Archaeologists' Association. "This will open the floodgates to
smugglers. It'll serve to encourage them at a time when evidence shows the
trafficking of antiquities is on the rise."

Last month, as Athens announced legal action against California's Getty
Museum to reclaim an array of antiquities whose rightful owners, according
to authorities, died at least 2,000 years ago, the row reached a new pitch.
At issue are thousands of shipwrecks believed to be buried in the
Mediterranean. Greece is thought to host most of these submerged gems, with
an undisclosed number, say experts, dating to the golden age of the 5th
century BC. And, like later vessels from the Roman, Byzantine and early
modern periods, those ships sank with priceless cargoes intact.

"If you think of at least one ship going down a year then there would be at
least 6,000 of them down there now," says Katerina Delaporta, who heads the
department of marine antiquity at the ministry of culture. "There could be
double that," she says. "What is really bad is that this legislation not
only contradicts constitutional laws that go back to the foundation of the
Greek state on how our archaeology should be protected, but it also allows
people to dive at great depths with the latest technology."

Previously, divers were given access to just 620 miles of the 10,000 miles
of Greek coastline. Under the new legislation, however, they will be able to
explore vessels and "archaeological parks" along the entire seabed freely.
Until now, Greek authorities have gone out of their way to locate and
protect historic wrecks. In the last five years, state-employed underwater
archaeologists have found 35 ancient ships - compared with five in the
decade before that - at depths of up to 600 metres. In total, a thousand
have been catalogued.

But technological advances often mean modern pillagers get to such jewels
before overworked archaeologists. While hi-tech tools have helped
specialists better understand the boundaries of marine archaeology, they
have also allowed amateur treasure-hunters to tap into Greece's vast
underwater heritage, says Dr Delaporta.

"The sea is not like a museum. It can't be guarded round the clock and
unfortunately technology has no principles," she says. "Looting is a big
danger." It is not only wrecks that are attractive to looters. The Aegean is
also thought to be littered with masterpieces lost in storms, thanks to
Roman invaders' penchant for classical and Hellenistic statues. Since 1997
four statues, including a magnificent rendition of Roman emperor Octavius,
have been delivered by fishermen to the state in the hope of rewards.

The problem of undersea plundering is part of the much wider problem of
looting. Net profits from the global trade in antiquities are now on a par
with those from smuggling humans and drugs, according to culture ministry
officials in Greece. Emboldened by the explosion of internet auction houses,
an increasing number of looters, they say, are linking up with criminal
gangs seeking to launder ill-gotten gains through the international art
market.

Nobody knows this better than Giorgos Gligoris. As head of the police squad
set up to combat antiquities trafficking, the detective frequently dons the
sharp suit of a collector to infiltrate art smuggling circles. From his
cramped sixth-floor office in Athens's gargantuan police headquarters, he
explains that, Europe-wide, the "bad economic climate" has spurred a
proliferation of looters. This year alone, his 12-member team has seen a
huge rise in valuable Byzantine icons being filched from monasteries.

"Put simply, profits are phenomenal and looters are running riot," he
bristles, cigarette ash flying as he raises his hands in despair. "In the US
and Europe ancient Greek artefacts are, sadly, very fashionable. Nouveau
riche like them because they're not only pretty and look good in their
sitting-rooms, but they also happen to be a great investment." For Greece
there is the added problem of the country being "like a museum without any
guards or doors".
  
Photo: http://www.cdnn.info/news/industry/i051206.html  
Ugly man with an ugly plan: Scuba looter Brad Sheard.  Archaeologists,
police, coast guards and historical preservation groups worldwide are
struggling to protect wrecks from infamous scuba diving thieves including
Brad Sheard and Leigh Bishop who boast about their private collections of
artifacts they claim to have "legally" looted from sunken wrecks around the
world.

"And now Europe is border-free and there are far fewer checkpoints, it's
even easier for traffickers," he sighs.

Experts believe that often antiquities are whisked out of Greece in fruit
and vegetable trucks. Destination reached, they can change hands up to five
times before arriving in the display room of an auction house or museum.

The apparent ease with which smugglers have learned to move has given birth
to a new type of menace in the form of looters posing as tourists, Mr
Gligoris says. Last summer his unit stopped a yacht in broad daylight
brimming with valuable amphorae, or jars, as it pulled out of port on the
remote island of Mytilene.

In 2004, he says, his department confiscated 1,401 ancient artefacts in 24
raids throughout the country. "A lot of smugglers are coming here posing as
wealthy tourists on yachts," he explains. "They arrive, supposedly on a
cruise, when their real intention is to locate wrecks and whisk gold and
bronze antiquities out of the country."

The work of anti-traffickers is made harder because of the
near-impossibility of being able to prove that an artefact is stolen without
previous photographic or archival evidence of its existence, he says. Last
year, Greek officials discovered this to their cost when 17,000 stolen
antiquities - enough to stock 10 museums - were found in the collection of
the disgraced British art dealer Robin Symes. The unearthing of the hoard,
the decision to take legal action against the Getty - after years of
abortive diplomacy - and the dispute over allowing diving have all
reinvigorated the campaign to stop Greece's heritage being spirited away.

For Mr Gligoris, there are times when he feels he is winning. "We do have
moments of light when we catch smugglers. And when that happens, there's a
lot of dancing and singing in this office."

Case study

'He was counting the money'

Two years ago officer Giorgos Gligoris was tipped off about a "hot sale" in
the province of Epiros. A retired civil servant conducting illegal
excavations outside Ioannina had unearthed two 4th century BC statues - an
Aphrodite and a gorgeous youth. He had stashed them in the basement of his
block of flats and was looking for a buyer. He was prepared to sell them for
£280,000. The detective filled his briefcase with cash and drove up to the
north-western city. Members of his team would shadow him but until the
mission was over he would use his alter ego: a Greek gallery owner who lived
and worked in Switzerland. "We agreed to meet in a cafe and the trafficker
took me to the building in question to show off the pieces," Mr Gligoris
said. "They were beautiful, and I instantly said I would buy them but
suggested have lunch first." When they got to the restaurant the detective
alerted his team. "The old man was counting the money when they nabbed him.
It was brilliant," said Mr Gligoris. "It took us two years to win the trust
of the men who tipped us off and we were lucky because it wasn't dangerous.
Other times it's been hairy. One guy, a trafficker in the army, kept his
fingers on a grenade in his pocket the entire time we were negotiating. You
can't show fear because if you do, you've lost the game."

 
 
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