illicit antiquities trading in economic crisis, organised crime and political violence
It’s the first anniversary of the electronic publication of my PhD thesis!
I explained the value of online access in a post four months after my thesis went online. I just thought I would give an update on the numbers of readers and styles of reading (and the inability to identify trends in the subjects of reading).
The other week, I asked what the Greek riots’ targets could tell us about the Greek rioters; and looking at the data as a whole, the answer was tl;dr and quite inconclusive. However, I think that, by looking at events outside Athens, where the places and populations are smaller, it is possible to follow individual groups’ activities and, thus, to draw an outline of the rioters’ identities and intentions. I believe there is clear evidence of intelligent targeting of the symbols of those politically and financially responsible for the crisis.
It’s been six months since ‘unprecedented‘ urban destruction in riots in Greece. I’ve documented specific attacks on property on the 12th and 13th of February, and 24th of March; even looked at non-destructive acts upon cultural property; and questioned the more-or-less-official account of material violence during the spring protests. Now I want to ask: what can the targets for destruction on the 12th of February 2012 tell us about the attackers?
This really is tl;dr. Basically, the primary targets were bankers, politicians and the police; and that suggests that (at least a lot of) the violence was a genuine expression of public anger, committed by anarchists and indignants. It does not bode well for the future.
conflict antiquities 