Queries & Comments

BAR Hypocritically Contributes to the Plundering of Archaeological Sites

There is a contradiction in the March/April issue (BAR 15:02) which I find most distressing.

On the one hand, you point out the very serious problem of site plundering and its effect on the archaeological record (David Ilan, Uzi Dahari and Gideon Avni, “The Rampant Rape of Israel’s Archaeological Sites,” BAR 15:02); yet in the same issue there are no less than four advertisements offering “genuine, authentic antiquities” for sale.

I realize that advertising provides much-needed funds for publications such as yours, but it seems somewhat unethical and hypocritical to accept advertising from companies who profit from practices which are soundly condemned by serious archaeologists.

How can you reconcile your article on plunder with the numerous advertisements of dealers selling those artifacts? Could your publication survive without the revenue from those advertisements?