The (W)Hole Picture: the Intersection of Pots, People, and Planes

 A lecture by Professor Morag Kersel, Assistant Professor in Antropology at DePaul University.

How does (should) a person, a community, a government, law enforcement, an international organization respond to a hole in the ground; a hole that is the direct result of archaeological site looting? Demand for Early Bronze Age (3600-2000 BCE) archaeological objects has resulted in decades of illegal excavation and thousands of holes in the ground along the Dead Sea Plain in Jordan. Most parties who interact with the landscape view holes as a negative factor but recent results indicate that there are some who see positive aspects to illegally excavated holes. A holistic approach, which includes archaeological evidence (pots), archival documents (people and pots), ethnographic interviews (people), and aerial surveys using drones (planes), provides valuable clues from the past and present regarding the holes. Ethnographic insights into the scope, scale, and movement of looted artifacts are coupled with an aerial site monitoring project investigating change over time in order to assess the potential impact of various Jordanian Department of Antiquities’ anti-looting campaigns and local community outreach programs.