JERUSALEM,
ISRAEL—Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) agents confiscated bronze
arrowheads, 2,000-year-old coins, perfume vessels, and other ancient
artifacts during the raid of a souvenir store in an upscale Jerusalem
mall that was lacking a proper license. The Times of Israel reports
that earlier this year, the IAA mandated licensed dealers of
antiquities use a digitized inventory system and upload detailed
descriptions of their items for sale into an IAA database. According to
the IAA, the new system should prevent licensed dealers from
“laundering” artifacts acquired illegally and manipulating inventories.
Eitan Klein, deputy head of the IAA's theft prevention unit, said that
before the new regulations were implemented “it was abundantly clear
that in order to supply the merchandise antiquities sites in Israel and
around the world were being plundered and history was sold to the
highest bidder.
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