From tomb robbers to diplomats the lucrative trade in antiquities during the 1800s involved much more than individual treasure hunters and travelers seeking souvenirs. During this period, the field of archaeology was forming as a structured discipline, grand-scale excavations were conceived and undertaken, national and imperial museums were founded, the art market became sophisticated and professional, and private collectors vied to be the owners of precious and impressive artifacts. Out of their competing interests, antiquities became commodities, symbols of power, indicators of wealth, proof of education and taste, and the focus of debates on the rights of ownership, the duties of stewardship, and the role of the archeologist. This lecture will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the antiquities trade in Greece in the 1800s starting from the ground up.

Dr. Galanakis is a lecturer in Greek Prehistory in the Faculty of Classics, and Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. He has participated in excavations, surveys and study seasons in Crete, the Peloponnese and Central Greece. His current publications include The Aegean World, A Guide to the Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean Collections in the Ashmolean Museum

This lectured is sponsored by the Department of Classics and the Archaeological Institute of America