SINCE the 1974 Turkish invasion over 60,000 antique artifacts have been looted and smuggled out of northern Cyprus, says the government. But one man believes those stolen relics of our island’s heritage may not be as far away as those quoting such high, and some-would-say arbitrary, figures think.
In a field near the St Barnabas monastery Dr Marc Fehlmann, a Swiss professor of art history at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), points to freshly dug holes in the ground.
“There is no solution to looting. After prostitution, it is the oldest profession known to man,” he declares, explaining that the tombs of the ancient Egyptians were raided hundreds of years before Western explorers turned up to do a bit of their own grave robbing. He says the Romans too did a healthy trade in ancient Greek artifacts with which the wealthy adorned their lavish homes.
“You can’t change human nature. The poor will find the antiques to sell to the rich,” says Fehlmann.
Much of the recent looting in the north has taken place on the back of the construction industry. Holes are dug for foundations, and ancient grave sites are revealed. Often these finds are not revealed to the authorities and the artifacts are either kept at home by those who find them, or sold on to dealers and collectors. This is not only true of north Cyprus, says Fehlmann, but also of towns in the south such as Paphos and Limassol in the south where extensive construction has been taking place over the last three decades.
Although Fehlmann accepts that antiquity looting is impossible to completely eradicate, he believes that there are ways to reduce the volume of trade taking place, and that these ways have more to do with identifying and controlling the buyers than with seeking out the robbers.
“Without a rich buyer, there is no trade,” he says, indicating that there is little point in jailing the villager or construction worker who either intentionally, or by chance, finds such buried antiquities.
“The question for Cyprus is, who wants Cypriot material?” the art historian says.
According to Fehlmann’s research, Cypriot antiquities sold on the open market at auctioneers such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, account for only around two per cent of material from the ancient and classical periods. In fact, on the scale of things, Cyprus is seen as peripheral and not very important. What can be found in Cyprus can be found in almost any of the countries surrounding it. The result is that only around 1,700 pieces have been sold on the open market over the last 26 years, and although 95 per cent of them were “fresh”, which means they have no history of previous ownership or information on where they were found or by whom, it was still impossible to prove they had been dug up in the north since the island’s division.
But even if the government’s claim of 60,000 looted and smuggled antiques from the north was true, Fehlmann believes it is predominantly Cypriots who are buying looted Cypriot antiquities.
“Most of the materials seem not to enter the open market anymore, and not end up with dealers and auction houses in London, Munich and Switzerland. Instead, the ‘finds’ seem to find a quick way to collectors on the island,” he said.
“The market is with local Cypriots and rich Cypriots abroad. I can’t prove it, but there is a lot of hypocrisy,” Fehlmann says, adding: “People say the stuff is looted in big figures, but I can’t find the stuff on the market.”
Fehlmann is no apologist for the authorities in the north, and sometimes chides them for not sufficiently prioritising the protection of antiquities under their jurisdiction. However he accepts that much of the problem stems from the political non-recognition of the north.
“The political stalemate on the island means that international bodies like UNESCO ignore the north,” he says. And this inevitably means that the ‘antiquities and museums and monuments department’ finds itself both underfunded and understaffed.
“How can you survey all the grounds when you don’t have enough funds to pay skilled staff?” he asks.
As a starter, Fehlmann suggests a review of laws regarding antiquities. A variation of the British treasure trove laws may be applicable in Cyprus, he says, whereby someone who finds an artifact will either be paid for it by the government for the find, or be allowed to keep it. One problem that could arise from this, though, might be that it results in hordes of people taking to the fields looking for antiquities.
“It might not work with the Cypriot mindset,” Fehlmann concedes.
Therefore, the mindset of the Cypriot public is also something that needs to change if the problem is going to be reduced.
People, he says, have to feel that these antiquities belong to the country, and to the people. If they did, they would feel anger at what the looters do. Unfortunately, many in Cyprus, both Greek and Turkish, still see antiquities simply in terms of financial value, despite the fact that what is earned from looting is small fry compared with the “catastrophic” loss in terms of historical knowledge.
“When an artifact is removed by a robber, the context in which it is found is lost forever.”
