@mokersel
@mokersel.bsky.social
archaeologist, adventurer, follower of pots and neolithic masks
Reposted by @mokersel
#OnThisDay in 1953, the Piltdown man fossils were declared a “perfectly executed and carefully prepared fraud," concluding a hoax that had lasted over forty years. 🏺🧪
November 21, 2025 at 5:40 PM
#OnThisDay in 1953, the Piltdown man fossils were declared a “perfectly executed and carefully prepared fraud," concluding a hoax that had lasted over forty years. 🏺🧪
If you are on the Southside of Chicago and have some spare time this evening. Drop by the Institute for Ancient Cultures. 🕖📕🏺🧿
November 5, 2025 at 6:37 PM
If you are on the Southside of Chicago and have some spare time this evening. Drop by the Institute for Ancient Cultures. 🕖📕🏺🧿
Ancient Desert Death Trap | NOVA | PBS share.google/5PwBj9xBNlVn...
Ancient Desert Death Trap
Explore mysterious 9,000-year-old Stone Age megastructures found in the Arabian Desert.
share.google
October 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Ancient Desert Death Trap | NOVA | PBS share.google/5PwBj9xBNlVn...
🏺“Israel and the settlers whom you have joined have weaponized archaeology in Jerusalem and the West Bank, using it as a lever to dispossess Palestinians,” www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
Archaeologists dig in against antiquities bill aiming to deepen Israel’s hold on West Bank
A push to shift oversight of excavations in the territory to a civilian authority sparks worries of creeping annexation, with researchers fearing they'll bear brunt of any backlash
www.timesofisrael.com
August 23, 2025 at 1:29 PM
🏺“Israel and the settlers whom you have joined have weaponized archaeology in Jerusalem and the West Bank, using it as a lever to dispossess Palestinians,” www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
✒️🏺new special thematic issue - Caring for Culture. #openaccess #archaeology #heritage www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🏺👏
August 14, 2025 at 9:27 AM
✒️🏺new special thematic issue - Caring for Culture. #openaccess #archaeology #heritage www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🏺👏
@jebarr.bsky.social ricochet.media/indigenous/d... I'm sure you are watching this contemporary "department store" sale
Despite requests from Indigenous leaders, HBC artifacts will not be returned
Those interested in the items have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements
ricochet.media
August 12, 2025 at 11:20 AM
@jebarr.bsky.social ricochet.media/indigenous/d... I'm sure you are watching this contemporary "department store" sale
Good read
I'm interested in late Ottoman-period publications (books, periodicals, etc.) on antiquities/Antiquity (broadly defined) in the languages spoken/written in Anatolia: Ottoman Turkish, Greek, Karamanlidika, Armenian, Ladino, etc. If you could help, please PM me ([email protected]). I'd be grateful!
July 12, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Good read
Reposted by @mokersel
“Laws are living documents that should change with the times,” write Tess Davis & @helenaarose.bsky.social.
In AAP’s latest FirstView piece, they examine the roles of the CPIA in combating the #illicittrade & propose strategies to improve current practices for safeguarding #culturalheritage.
In AAP’s latest FirstView piece, they examine the roles of the CPIA in combating the #illicittrade & propose strategies to improve current practices for safeguarding #culturalheritage.
Antiquated Policy? Rethinking Cultural Property Agreements with Foreign Governments under US Law | Advances in Archaeological Practice | Cambridge Core
Antiquated Policy? Rethinking Cultural Property Agreements with Foreign Governments under US Law
www.cambridge.org
June 26, 2025 at 10:33 PM
“Laws are living documents that should change with the times,” write Tess Davis & @helenaarose.bsky.social.
In AAP’s latest FirstView piece, they examine the roles of the CPIA in combating the #illicittrade & propose strategies to improve current practices for safeguarding #culturalheritage.
In AAP’s latest FirstView piece, they examine the roles of the CPIA in combating the #illicittrade & propose strategies to improve current practices for safeguarding #culturalheritage.
Reposted by @mokersel
If this article is accurate, the EU does not sweat the "small stuff", viz., antiquities that are worth less than 18,000 euros and are 200 years or older and not produced within the EU.. Most plundered objects fall under this value exception. Ergo...
news.artnet.com/multimedia/a...
news.artnet.com/multimedia/a...
Antiquities Face More Red Tape | Artnet News
New import regulations in Europe are compounding an already confusing trade landscape. Plus, what are the art hot spots this summer?
news.artnet.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:25 AM
If this article is accurate, the EU does not sweat the "small stuff", viz., antiquities that are worth less than 18,000 euros and are 200 years or older and not produced within the EU.. Most plundered objects fall under this value exception. Ergo...
news.artnet.com/multimedia/a...
news.artnet.com/multimedia/a...
Reposted by @mokersel
Archaeological looting is a common consequence of war. Recently I spoke with several experts to better understand this relationship at Khirbet Keila, a 4,000-year-old archaeological site in Palestine’s West Bank.
New at @science.org 🧪🏺
#Archaeology #Gaza #Paleosky #AntiquesTrafficking #Heritage
New at @science.org 🧪🏺
#Archaeology #Gaza #Paleosky #AntiquesTrafficking #Heritage
As war rages in Gaza, archaeological looting in the West Bank has spiked
Economic collapse in Palestinian territories has led to illegal digs at prominent Bronze Age site, new study finds
www.science.org
June 9, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Archaeological looting is a common consequence of war. Recently I spoke with several experts to better understand this relationship at Khirbet Keila, a 4,000-year-old archaeological site in Palestine’s West Bank.
New at @science.org 🧪🏺
#Archaeology #Gaza #Paleosky #AntiquesTrafficking #Heritage
New at @science.org 🧪🏺
#Archaeology #Gaza #Paleosky #AntiquesTrafficking #Heritage
Reposted by @mokersel
“more is at stake than just this paper. Many of the authors of the work on Tall el-Hammam were involved in a 2007 paper, also published in a leading scientific publication, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
Tunguska-Like Event May Not Have Inspired Biblical Tale Of Sodom and Gomorrah After All
The idea made for a hard-to-resist story, but the claims were built on sand in more ways than one.
www.iflscience.com
May 28, 2025 at 10:53 AM
“more is at stake than just this paper. Many of the authors of the work on Tall el-Hammam were involved in a 2007 paper, also published in a leading scientific publication, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
www.iflscience.com/tunguska-lik...
Happened on community archaeology in Greenwich Park @uclarchaeology.bsky.social
May 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Happened on community archaeology in Greenwich Park @uclarchaeology.bsky.social
Walked the path of the ancient river Fleet
May 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Walked the path of the ancient river Fleet
Reposted by @mokersel
Retraction Watch just announced the pending retraction of the Comet Research Group's Sodom & Gomorrah pseudoarchaeology paper. The authors are not taking it well. retractionwatch.com/2025/04/23/s...
Sodom comet paper to be retracted two years after editor’s note acknowledging concerns
The authors’ reconstruction of what the blast’s impact area may have been. Source Scientific Reports will retract a controversial paper claiming to present evidence an ancient city in t…
retractionwatch.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Retraction Watch just announced the pending retraction of the Comet Research Group's Sodom & Gomorrah pseudoarchaeology paper. The authors are not taking it well. retractionwatch.com/2025/04/23/s...
Reposted by @mokersel
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the return of 12 antiquities to Cyprus and a 6th-century Silver Medallion to Spain, recovered through investigations into illegal antiquities trafficking, including the case of convicted dealer Robin Symes.
Read full story here: bit.ly/4jelHbx
Read full story here: bit.ly/4jelHbx
April 7, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the return of 12 antiquities to Cyprus and a 6th-century Silver Medallion to Spain, recovered through investigations into illegal antiquities trafficking, including the case of convicted dealer Robin Symes.
Read full story here: bit.ly/4jelHbx
Read full story here: bit.ly/4jelHbx
Reposted by @mokersel
Laundering looted antiquities through the use of an old collection? Forged provenance documentation? I investigate the case of Cumberland Clark, a forgotten early 20th-century collector who has become relevant again
doi.org/10.1017/S094...
doi.org/10.1017/S094...
Constructing Provenance with Old Collections: The Case of Cumberland Clark | International Journal of Cultural Property | Cambridge Core
Constructing Provenance with Old Collections: The Case of Cumberland Clark
doi.org
March 29, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Laundering looted antiquities through the use of an old collection? Forged provenance documentation? I investigate the case of Cumberland Clark, a forgotten early 20th-century collector who has become relevant again
doi.org/10.1017/S094...
doi.org/10.1017/S094...
Using antiquities as decor. With a little Plato thrown in.
March 25, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Using antiquities as decor. With a little Plato thrown in.
Further normalization of occupied archaeology. arch-js.co.il?page_id=781&... imagine presenting a keynote on Iraq and Syria in this context. #archaeology 🏺
February 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Further normalization of occupied archaeology. arch-js.co.il?page_id=781&... imagine presenting a keynote on Iraq and Syria in this context. #archaeology 🏺
Checking out Athena at Wrightwood659
February 1, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Checking out Athena at Wrightwood659
Reposted by @mokersel
@mokersel.bsky.social and @pgerstenblith.bsky.social survey the legal changes since ISIL’s looting of cultural heritage sites in the 2010s and find that cultural heritage protection remains trapped in an inconsistent and reactive, rather than proactive, framework.
January 31, 2025 at 7:15 PM
@mokersel.bsky.social and @pgerstenblith.bsky.social survey the legal changes since ISIL’s looting of cultural heritage sites in the 2010s and find that cultural heritage protection remains trapped in an inconsistent and reactive, rather than proactive, framework.
Reposted by @mokersel
Just dropped: major article on the outrageous "fragments scheme" whereby (evidence suggests) D. von Bothmer, curator @metmuseum1870.bsky.social conspired with antiquities traffickers like Giacomo Medici & Robert Hecht to get around export laws by BREAKING INTACT ANCIENT VASES INTO FRAGMENTS ... 1/3
December 30, 2024 at 5:33 PM
Just dropped: major article on the outrageous "fragments scheme" whereby (evidence suggests) D. von Bothmer, curator @metmuseum1870.bsky.social conspired with antiquities traffickers like Giacomo Medici & Robert Hecht to get around export laws by BREAKING INTACT ANCIENT VASES INTO FRAGMENTS ... 1/3