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http://www.archaeologytoday.net/web%20articles/081401-Racing%20the%20Looters%20of%20Cambodia.htm
The recent
discovery of a very early settlement in northwestern Cambodia
excited scholars and, tragically, looters whose illicit feeding
frenzy nearly destroyed the site. Cambodian archaeologists
and officials are racing to save what remains.
The site,
which dates to the time before the fabled temples of the Angkor
empire, was discovered during road construction in the Banteay
Meanchey Province of northwestern Cambodia. Local villagers
discovered staggeringly rich burials and a surprising amount
of military paraphernalia. This could be one of the most important
archaeological sites in Cambodia for explaining the rise of
the state in Southeast Asia.
But much
has been lost, and while the Cambodian Ministry of Culture
and Fine Arts has made valiant efforts to discourage looting,
the task is daunting. Gaping holes spot the landscape, with
piles of human bone and broken pottery — discarded as
worthless trash. The looters sell their wares to middlemen,
who then peddle them across the border in Thailand. Villagers
reported that an American made two trips from Thailand to
buy looted antiquities. Crushing poverty motivates the villagers,
but greed drives the buyers.
Material reportedly found
during the illicit excavations includes bronze and iron spearheads,
swords, bangles, bells, earrings, finger and toe rings, projectile
points, spindle whorls, glass, carnelian and agate beads, and
complete pots. Some of the dead apparently were wearing bronze
helmets. The apparent proliferation of military equipment is
of great interest. This may indicate increased competition over
resources, which could have driven the development of strongly
hierarchical societies.In
an effort to salvage some scientific information from the looted
site, the archaeology faculty of the Royal University of Fine
Arts in Phnom Penh will hold its annual field school in Banteay
Meanchey this year. Graduate students from the University of
Otago, New Zealand, will join the Cambodian students at the
field school, which is supported by the Japan Fund in Trust
and UNESCO.
Dougald J.W. O’Reilly |
