Miami University students will join members of the Oxford community for an opportunity to learn about the trouble with treasure today at a lecture Tuesday evening.
The talk, "Mounds, Monuments and Museums: Plunder in Western Anatolia," will be presented by the Oxford chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), and will be delivered by Christopher Roosevelt, assistant professor of archaeology at Boston University, at 7:30 p.m. in the Miami University Art Museum.
According to Boston University's Web site, Roosevelt specializes in the archaeology of western Anatolia in western Turkey, where he has spent a considerable amount of time and about which he has published several articles.
"The biggest stereotype (of archaeologists) is that we're all whip-bearing, fedora-wearing Indiana Jones who do nothing but find treasure," Roosevelt said.
In an attempt to show a more realistic side of the discipline, Roosevelt will focus on a less talked about by-product of the archaeological excavating of antiquities-looting.
Roosevelt said that the plunder of these historical findings is problematic because it decreases the archaeological and historical understandings of the region from which the items are taken.
He explained that the antiquities are stolen from their sites and then smuggled out of the country and sold to rich private collectors or sometimes museums.
In further pursuance of preserving relics in their original contexts and also to better understand the regions surrounding Anatolia, Roosevelt created and is director of the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Through the survey, Roosevelt and select graduate and undergraduate students participate in fieldwork in the area, including pedestrian surveys, environmental research and material analysis.
"(Our work) is important in preserving archaeological knowledge and broaden our understanding of the past," Roosevelt said.
According to Steven Tuck, associate professor of classics and secretary-treasurer for the Oxford chapter of the AIA, Roosevelt's lecture is being sponsored by the classics, art and comparative religion departments at Miami.
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Tuck said the society is expecting 40 to 60 people to attend, consisting of students, faculty and community members with a wide array of reasons for their interest.
"(Roosevelt) is doing really interesting work in Lydia," Tuck said. "It's fascinating for a variety of people because it deals not only with archaeology, but also with ethics."
James Hanges, president of the Oxford chapter of AIA and associate professor of comparative religion at Miami, voiced the same sentiment.
"The lectures are designed to bring cutting edge archaeology to local communities of both interested amateurs and professionals," he said, via e-mail.
The Oxford chapter of the AIA presents three lectures a year, with the next to take place in March.
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