The published history of a set of silver and gold objects acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1975 contains an unusual reference to a gold coin, supposedly found with the set but not purchased by the museum. The coin, which is both rare and well dated, ostensibly offers a date and location for the ancient deposition of the silver service. Almost five years of research into the stories of the Getty objects and the coin has revealed important information about these particular items, but it also offers a cautionary example for scholars who might hope to reconstruct the find-spot of antiquities that are likely to have been looted.

In many temples in and around Kyoto, sets of wall and slide door paintings and folding screen paintings, which are designated either national treasures or important cultural properties of Japan, have been replaced in situ by high-quality digital reproductions. The original paintings, in turn, are now largely out of sight, placed in storage spaces within temples and museums. Vanguard projects of this nature were conducted in the mid-1990s. Since the mid-2000s, however, and without adequate review of the merits and demerits of such replacement, the practice has accelerated, and numerous sets of slide door paintings have been replaced by reproductions produced for the most part by two competing corporations. The process and implication of such digital replacement require far greater attention and discussion than has to date taken place. Accordingly, this article seeks to clarify the current status of, and problems arising from, the digitization projects taking place in and around Kyoto.

Mamilla cemetery was one of the largest and most important Muslim cemeteries in Jerusalem. The plans to build a “Museum of Tolerance” in it led to heated protests and a prolonged legal procedure in Israel’s Supreme Court of Justice. In 2008, the court approved the plans and many hundreds of graves were exhumed. Through the available sources, including the court’s archival files, we discuss political, legal, and archaeological aspects of this case, focusing on ethics about cemeteries and descendant communities. The discussion shows that the Israel Antiquities Authority breached the court orders and that the treatment of the archaeological remains was biased. “Their” graves were destroyed, and the bones reburied in secret, while “our” remains in the same areas were carefully excavated and preserved. Tolerance to “our” heritage at the expense of “theirs” is intolerance.

An overview of both the theoretical approach and the set of actions taken during the last decade by Greece – a country with a profound historical background and rich cultural heritage – to face the problem of the illicit trade of cultural goods. The article contains not only statistical data on recent cases of thefts, clandestine excavations, confiscations, and repatriations of cultural goods but also information on law enforcement and the effort to establish a network to fight the phenomenon on an international level. Aspects such as conforming to the international law, monitoring auctions of antiquities, raising people’s awareness, and reinforcing the current security status of museums and archeological sites are taken into consideration as successful methods for protecting the cultural heritage.

The rational and efficient recovery of Chinese archaeological objects from market nations is a crucial issue that is confronting the Chinese government. Although the 1970 UNESCO Convention was accepted in China in 1989, the destruction of Chinese archaeological sites through illicit excavations and illegal trade has increased, rather than diminished, in the nearly 30 succeeding years. For a better understanding of the challenges that confront the Chinese government, this article provides a case study approach to analyze the case of gold foils stolen from the Eastern Zhou tombs in the Dapuzishan Mountain Region of Lixian County in Gansu Province in the People’s Republic of China. The author identifies prominent issues that exist in relation to repatriation claims and offers some practical advice on the recovery of Chinese archaeological objects, which may assist the Chinese government in its decision making.