Antiquities and Ancient Art

Breaking News: Undisturbed Mycenaean Grave Discovered in Greece

Roadworks in southern Greece have unearthed a rare Mycenaean grave thought to be well over 3,000 years old and containing important burial offerings including a gold chalice, according to a report from Reuters today.

Archaeologists said it appeared to be the grave of a local military official and was the first time a single grave had been found with such a combination of objects -- including a bronze and gold sword, and a bronze spear point, knife and pot.

Pottery found in the grave dated it to around 1,200 BC.

For the full story via Reuters click: Mycenaean grave.

Italy and Antiquities: A Case of Do as I Say, But Not as I Do?

It's difficult to go one week without reading a report in a newspaper, blog, or online regarding Italy's quest to reclaim antiquities it claims have been spirited illegally out of the country.

In at least one recent case, Italy has found itself on the opposite side of a repatriation claim. And Italy doth protest. 

At stake is a second-century statue of Venus now displayed at the Palazzo Massimo museum in Rome. The statue was removed by Italian troops in 1912 from the ancient Greek settlement of Cyrene on the Libyan coast, according to a report in The Art Newspaper. Libya has been demanding the statue's return since 1989.

In light of the Italian government's uncompromising position with the largest American museums, the incident appears to be oddly hypocritical. The provenance of the object is clear -- it clearly was not found on Italian soil. Despite a court ruling in April that the statue be returned to Libya, the Italian Nostra continues to refuse and has appealed the case to the Council of State, Italy's highest court.