Legal definitions as a cornerstone for protecting archaeological finds from illegal export and trade
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Defining ‘cultural property’ is fundamental to protecting archaeological heritage, but these legal definitions can vary from state to state, even within individual territories - England within the UK is a good example of the latter. Consequently, similar artifacts may have differing legal status (and therefore protection) depending on their country of origin. The task of this contribution is to examine - using the example of the Czech Republic and England (within the UK) - how these legal definitions affect the volume of protected objects and human behaviour towards cultural property, specifically in relation to searching for archaeological finds to trade or sell. Furthermore, we will consider how Europe might, on a theoretical level, benefit from states moving together in developing legislation that could protect the exploitation of archaeological material for personal gain. In order to comprehensively examine the problem, obstacles preventing states in moving national legislations together will be presented. |
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