Let CPO say it respects archaeology and all it has contributed to the understanding of the human past. On the other hand, CPO also questions whether archaeology is really a "hard science," as has been claimed by activists who believe that private collecting should be suppressed in "the name of furthering knowledge." In this regard, CPO notes that the latest on Paul Barford's and David Gill's blogs suggest that it's not really about "science" at all, but about rumor mongering in order to further an agenda. It's one thing to have principled concerns about the Portable Antiquity Scheme and the publication of poems found on an unprovenanced artifact. But it's quite another to imply -- based on little more than rank speculation-- that the Crosby Garrett Helmet was actually found outside the British Isles or that the "Sappho papyrus" was possibly part of a cache from a Turkish eBay seller Is this science?
↧