‘An archaeologist’s view of the trade in unprovenanced antiquities’, in B. Hoffman (ed.), Art and Cultural Heritage Law for the Twenty-first Century: Policy and Practice

Archaeological sites and monuments are important sources of historical information. That is an archaeologist’s view of archaeology, though it is not the only one and there are other perspectives that need to be considered. Today, many archaeological sites have a cultural or religious significance, sometimes they stand in the way of(or are destroyed by) agricultural or industrial improvement, and some may constitute an economic resource, to be exploited by means of tourism or looting.