Archaeological Forgery
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What do you know about Archaeological Forgery
Archaeological forgery is the manufacture of supposedly ancient items that are sold to the antiquities market and may even end up in the collections of museums. It is related to art forgery.
Most of the archaeological forgery is made for reasons similar to art forgery - for money.
As is the case with art forgery, scholars and experts don't always agree on the authenticity of particular finds. Read more...
There are some great reads on archaeological forgery, and here I hope to share that interest with you. If you have an interest in archaeology then you will want to learn more. An archaeologist relys on the written word found in books and as someone with an interest in the subject what better way to become acquainetd with archaeology than by reading a book. You can click on a link to view more about the books that take your interest.
Most of the archaeological forgery is made for reasons similar to art forgery - for money.
As is the case with art forgery, scholars and experts don't always agree on the authenticity of particular finds. Read more...
There are some great reads on archaeological forgery, and here I hope to share that interest with you. If you have an interest in archaeology then you will want to learn more. An archaeologist relys on the written word found in books and as someone with an interest in the subject what better way to become acquainetd with archaeology than by reading a book. You can click on a link to view more about the books that take your interest.
Contents at a Glance
Broaden your knowledge about Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries
Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology
Committed to the scientific investigation of human antiquity, this indispensable supplementary text uses interesting archaeological hoaxes, myths, and mysteries to show how we can truly know things about the past through science. Examples of fantastic findings support the carefully, logically, and entertainingly described flaws in the purported evidence. By placing wildly inaccurate claims within the context of the scientific method, Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries demonstrates how science approaches fascinating questions about human antiquity and, in so doing, shows where pseudoscience falls short.
What was the Medici Conspiracy
The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities-- From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums
In light of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's recent decision to return a rare-and by the Italian government's contention, stolen-vase painted by the Greek master Euphronios, Watson and Todeschini's colorful account of Giacomo Medici, an antiquities dealer found guilty of looting last year, and his illegal business dealings, is wonderfully prescient. Making sense of a lengthy catalogue of legal, artistic and forensic documentation, the authors meticulously map out Medici's underground network of middlemen and tombaroli, or tomb robbers, and link them to corrupt dealers such as Robin Symes as well as to established cultural institutions including Sotheby's, the John Paul Getty Museum and the Met-asserting that Medici supplied most, if not all, of the major collections of classical antiquities that have been established since WWII. Though Watson (Sotheby's: The Inside Story) and Todeschini often become overly indignant when decrying their story's villains and frequently bog down the narrative with long-winded dialogue and paper trail excerpts, they are at their best when chronicling the international adventures of various investigators, such as the Carabinieri Art Squad's raids on various Italian criminals to recover lost loot. (May)
The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities-- From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums
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"The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums" reads like a contemporary page-turning crime thriller, but recounts a saga that is all too true, revealing a thirty-year old conspiracy which looted many of Italy's most important archaeological sites merely to satisfy the insatiable appetites of greedy American and European collectors and museum curators whose interest was solely in getting the best pieces possible for their collections, whatever the cost to their personal integrity and academic reputations.
Release Date: 12/31/1969
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Notable Archaeological Forgeries in History
Archaeological forgery is the fabrication of purportedly ancient items that are sold in the antiquities market and may sometimes even end up in museums. Fame and money are usually the reasons why most archaeological forgeries are perpetrated.
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown man consisted of skull and jawbone fragments unearthed in 1912 from a gravel pit in Piltdown, a village in East Sussex, England. Due to the prevailing ideas of the time regarding early human evolution, many leading experts touted the discovery as representing the missing link between ape and man, and even named it Eoanthropus Dawsoni, "Dawson's dawn man" after its discoverer, Charles Dawson, an amateur geologist and archaeologist.
Read more...
Etruscan Terracotta Warriors
Italian career art forgers Pio and Alfonso Ricardi were able to create three life-sized warrior statues during the 1910s with the aid of sculptor Alfredo Fiovaranti, These terracotta figures were passed off as priceless ancient Etruscan artworks and were eventually acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1915 and 1921. Since their first exhibition in 1933, numerous art historians had expressed suspicion regarding their authenticity but had no evidence to prove their allegation.
Read more...
Forged Persian Princess
In October 2000, an alleged 2,600-year-old mummy dressed with golden artifacts and encased in a gilded wooden sarcophagus surfaced in Pakistani Baluchistan, where it had been for sale in the antiquities black market for $11 to 20 million. The golden breastplate bore cuneiform inscriptions identifying the body as the Persian princess Rhodugune, a daughter of Xerxes I. Since no evidence of mummification was ever found outside Egypt, it was hailed as a major archaeological discovery.
Read more...
Cardiff Giant
Regarded as one of the greatest hoaxes in American history, the Cardiff Giant was a 10-foot supposed petrified man discovered in 1869 by group of workers in a farm in Cardiff, New York while digging a well. It turned out that the New York tobacconist-atheist named George Hull had hired men to carve the giant out of a huge block of gypsum in order to embarrass a fundamentalist preacher who believed that the Bible spoke of literal giants that once roamed the earth.
Read more...
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown man consisted of skull and jawbone fragments unearthed in 1912 from a gravel pit in Piltdown, a village in East Sussex, England. Due to the prevailing ideas of the time regarding early human evolution, many leading experts touted the discovery as representing the missing link between ape and man, and even named it Eoanthropus Dawsoni, "Dawson's dawn man" after its discoverer, Charles Dawson, an amateur geologist and archaeologist.
Read more...
Etruscan Terracotta Warriors
Italian career art forgers Pio and Alfonso Ricardi were able to create three life-sized warrior statues during the 1910s with the aid of sculptor Alfredo Fiovaranti, These terracotta figures were passed off as priceless ancient Etruscan artworks and were eventually acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1915 and 1921. Since their first exhibition in 1933, numerous art historians had expressed suspicion regarding their authenticity but had no evidence to prove their allegation.
Read more...
Forged Persian Princess
In October 2000, an alleged 2,600-year-old mummy dressed with golden artifacts and encased in a gilded wooden sarcophagus surfaced in Pakistani Baluchistan, where it had been for sale in the antiquities black market for $11 to 20 million. The golden breastplate bore cuneiform inscriptions identifying the body as the Persian princess Rhodugune, a daughter of Xerxes I. Since no evidence of mummification was ever found outside Egypt, it was hailed as a major archaeological discovery.
Read more...
Cardiff Giant
Regarded as one of the greatest hoaxes in American history, the Cardiff Giant was a 10-foot supposed petrified man discovered in 1869 by group of workers in a farm in Cardiff, New York while digging a well. It turned out that the New York tobacconist-atheist named George Hull had hired men to carve the giant out of a huge block of gypsum in order to embarrass a fundamentalist preacher who believed that the Bible spoke of literal giants that once roamed the earth.
Read more...
The ARCHAEOLOGY Magazine Web SIte
If you like tales of Archaeology's Hoaxes, Fakes, and Strange Sites then I recommend you take a look at this site and its hidden treasures. Here you will find story book tales come to life for real.
A fake figurine and a charlatan's vision inspire a doomed search for Atlantis in the jungles of Brazil Read more...
Extraordinary fossils and inscriptions: Works of Nature or God? Or made by jealous colleagues? Read more...
The "Hercules Sarcophagus" is quickly debunked, but 60 years later a fragment resurfaces as genuine in a prominent academic journal Read more...
Read these stories and more at Archaeology, or you can obatain a subscription to the magazine here...
A fake figurine and a charlatan's vision inspire a doomed search for Atlantis in the jungles of Brazil Read more...
Extraordinary fossils and inscriptions: Works of Nature or God? Or made by jealous colleagues? Read more...
The "Hercules Sarcophagus" is quickly debunked, but 60 years later a fragment resurfaces as genuine in a prominent academic journal Read more...
Read these stories and more at Archaeology, or you can obatain a subscription to the magazine here...
Find out about Fake Antiquities
Learn what is real and what is fake.
ARCHAEOLOGY Magazine
If you are getting into archaeology this is a great monthly read.
ARCHAEOLOGY combines worldwide archaeological findings with photography, specially rendered maps, drawings, and charts. Articles cover current excavations, recent discoveries, and special studies of ancient cultures. Regular features: Timelines, news briefs, film and book reviews, current museum exhibits, The Forum. Two annual Travel Guides give trip planning information.
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Morgannafay
Nov 4, 2011 @ 3:32 am | delete
- This was a really awesome read about archaeological forgeries. I really enjoyed the story about the forged mummy. I always did go ga ga for mummy stories. :)
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Maxwell
Sep 13, 2011 @ 12:03 pm | delete
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Popular Archaeology News
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Popular Archaeology magazine is a 100% online periodical dedicated to bringing archaeology to the public. We bring high quality original content, much of it produced exclusively for Popular Archaeology, for discriminating readers of the general public who have come to expect content similar to what can be found in the major print magazines. Unlike most other major magazines related to archaeology, no paper copies will ever be produced and distributed, so it will always be "green", and it will always be less costly to produce and therefore far less costly to purchase by premium subscribers (although regular subscriptions are always free).
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