SKOPJE, 8 October 2005 — Macedonia’s cultural heritage has been plundered to such an extent since independence in 1991 that authorities say they believe they have lost more than a million archaeological artifacts to Europe’s black markets. “Macedonia is a victim of organized crime,” which has stolen archaeological objects dating back to the 7th century BC, according to University of Macedonia history professor Viktor Lilcic.
Since 1991, sometimes violent criminal gangs had “illegally taken from the country more than one million archaeological items such as jewelry, coins and old weapons,” Lilcic told AFP. “What has happened in the past 10 or so years is terrible,” said Lilcic.
Jovan Ristov, who heads the government department for preserving Macedonia’s cultural heritage, added: “About 80 percent of Macedonia’s archaeological treasures have been destroyed or taken from shallow archaeological sites.” He did not say how much had been taken from sites that lie deeper underground and are harder to reach. “We have discovered that apart from the archaeological items, the main target of the criminals was old and valuable Byzantine icons” from the mainly Orthodox Christian country, Ristov added. There are more than 5,000 officially registered archaeological sites in the small, landlocked country of two million people, which separated from Yugoslavia in 1991.
A recent example of the trafficking occurred just days ago when an unidentified group of criminals smuggled out a “funeral ritual chariot” including human remains and animal figures from the 6th and 4th centuries BC, the Vreme newspaper said this week.
The Macedonian department responsible for preserving the country’s cultural heritage was “more than worried” about the situation, said its director, Jovan Ristov. The smugglers were locals but the people paying for the objects and taking them out of Macedonia were from other countries including Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia-Montenegro, Ristov told AFP. “It is more and more prevalent as the main aim (of those involved) is profit. These people are working on behalf of their own pockets and not for other values such as science, culture and history.” As the level of such criminal activity increased in recent years, the groups involved have become more organized and split into several groups that have turned on each other, Ristov said. “This has at times led to actual fighting and clashes over the territories of the archaeological locations,” he added.
Macedonian police say they have only been able to intercept 4,200 of the excavated objects. “The illegally obtained objects are kept behind closed doors at black market auctions” in Macedonia before they are smuggled to mainly EU countries where their prices are much higher, according to interior ministry spokesman Goran Pavlovski.
There was even a black market for trading in ancient coins in the middle of Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, said Nikola Seldarov, the president of local numismatic organization Pajanon. “It is based near Skopje’s new theater, but if you go there and ask about it, people will deny” it exists and try to tell you the coins were inherited from their relatives, Seldarov told AFP. Lilcic called on Skopje to introduce tougher measures in order punish the looters. “These diggers are killing (Macedonia’s) culture and civilization,” he said.
