Bulgarian authorities are to clamp down on the "tomb-raiding mafia" which works in conjunction with scientists, or, archaeologists, and is involved in the illegal sale and export of Bulgarian national treasures, the Bulgarian national television (BNT) reported on August 18 2010.
According to the report, scientists would tip off the tomb-raiders as to where they ought to dig for antiques. Once they find archaeological artifacts, they would be paid anywhere from a 100 to 500 leva per item. The items in question would then be sold at a price 10 times higher to private collectors in Bulgaria, Europe or beyond.
The starting price for such artifacts in Europe would be about 2000 leva, BNT said, citing police sources. But it is likely that by the time such items reach their final destination, their value would have soared several times over.
"Of course, the archaeologists immediately delegated the blame to the private collectors, which as far as I am concerned - shows poor knowledge of the problem," Kiril Hristov from the union of collectors in Bulgaria told the BNT.
Meanwhile, the archaeologists have accused tomb-raiders of destroying the cultural heritage of Bulgaria.
The issue of granting accreditation to collectors in Bulgaria has been passionately debated, particularly as to what the actual conditions would stipulate, and how strict the regime would be, and has caused a significant controversy among all factions.
Experts in the field believe that any relaxation of the accreditation process – regarding the registration of collectors and the finds themselves – would actually stimulate the collectors to work with tomb-raiders to a much greater extent.
But in the end, it is up to the authorities to thwart the illegal export and sale of Bulgaria's history abroad. Bulgarian artifacts were recently discovered in Canada and were subsequently returned in the country and are now in the National History Museum undergoing assessment, the BNT said.
Trafficking of the Bulgarian cultural heritage and selling it abroad – is a fact. Whether or not this is achieved with the knowledge or assistance of the archaeologists themselves, is a matter of secondary importance, according to the report.
What is of primary importance, according to BNT, is that there is mutual co-operation between archaeologists, collectors and police, so that the traffic is thwarted in the first place. One possible solution, backed by both archaeologists and collectors, is for the market or antiques to be legalised by the Government.
Source: The Sofia Echo [August 18, 2010]