Former head of Louvre charged in Egyptian artefacts trafficking case

Yet another wrinkle in the illegal trafficking of artifacts:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...charged-egyptian-antiquities-trafficking-case

 

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Yikes. I wonder if he also shut down his Ebay store. Lol

 

It is sad, but understandable that, as humans, we all have, as Robertson Davies termed it, a mixture of frailties, some benign while others less so.

 

I am not exactly sure how he benefited after reading the article. It apparently did not involve any ill-gotten gains. I agree that the Arab spring upheaval possibly made the illegal export of artifacts easier to accomplish.

As far as coins go they are generally never seen in Egypt. There are essentially no dealers selling Ptolemaic and Roman era coins and I suppose those found by farmers or villagers are quickly squirreled out of the country to the U.A.E. or other places where they can be laundered.

 

I assume there was some sort of monetary incentive for him to undertake such a risky effort. Perhaps more information will come out as the legal process proceeds.