Thursday, October 23, 2014

Archaeo-blogger Confirms that It's Not About Conservation, It's About Control

Archaeo-blogger Paul Barford, who purports to speak for the archaeological community on portable antiquities issues, has responded to noted cultural property lawyer Bill Pearlstein's views about Cuno's latest article condemning repatriation.

However, in attempting in his own way to "be clever," Barford has only unwittingly confirmed what CPO has "observed" for quite some time:  All the talk at CPAC meetings about supposedly "preserving context" by honoring the UNESCO Convention in applying the broadest restrictions possible really is far more about ensuring "control" than "conservation."

Thank you, Paul Barford.

1 comment:

John H said...

Of course Barford wants control. What else can one expect from a man who lauds communism and owes a debt to this vile regime for bankrolling his literary and career ambitions back in 1986?

Paul Barford is a one-off, and the only person I know who gives him any credence, apart from some of the very sad individuals clinging to his coat-tails, is Mike Heyworth, Director of the Council for British Archaeology, who on the one hand supports Barford's much-derided Artifact Erosion Counter, and on the other want to be seen 'engaging with' metal detectorists and collectors.

Archaeology in the UK, if this is a sample, doesn't know its arse from its elbow.

Warm regards

John Howland
England