As you probably know, each weekend we take a field trip to a different archaeological site in the area. Today’s journey brought us to Lamos, the summer retreat for the wealthy people of antiquity. It was a beautiful day to visit; after a harrowing bus ride up into the mountains, the air was calm and breezy. The valley and other mountains stretched out before us as we perched on the cliffs and ruins, soaking it all in.
Unfortunately, the site has been ravaged time after time by looters. Lamos has never been excavated, but lots of tombs and other buildings have been dug out and destroyed by illegal activity. They leave their trash strewn everywhere along the paths, sullying the otherwise quite pristine pine forest. They’ve smashed through sarcophagi, broken down walls, and tossed away valuable inscriptions. Professor Hoff informed us that the looters are mainly people from the surrounding villages, looking for anything and everything valuable.
Looting is a lousy reality in the world of archaeology. Ideally, we would all be equally interested in what we can learn from an artifact, rather than just its monetary value. Especially in a place like this, where the villagers are probably directly descended from the people of antiquity, you would think that they want to preserve their history at all costs. I’m so glad to be a part of the world dedicated to preservation. Even though the Antiochians are not my ancestors, their history is still deeply important to me. I almost feel that with every artifact we collect, we’re working towards a world where cultural heritage truly matters to everyone.