reports October 3, 1997

http://museum-security.org
securma@xs4all.nl

OCTOBER 1 - 3, 1997

- Society of American Archivist's Listserv announced
- $100,000 Sculpture Stolen From Gallery
- Damaged Lincoln Statue Returned To Detroit Public Library
- USartcop@aol.com is not IntlArtCop@aol.com
- Workers drop dinosaur skeleton
- Neolithic gold treasures seized in Greece (additional report: Ł2m 'sting' recovers ancient jewellery in Greece)
- Vandals prey on dinosaur treasure
- Struggle to save Italy's artistic treasures (rescuers further damaged frescoes by climbing on to the mounds of rubble to re-enact their discovery of the four victims elsewhere for the benefit of the television cameras!)
- training sessions with security staff to discuss how to deal with the many school groups
- controversial portrait of Moors murderer Myra Hindley
(Protesters defaced the portrait with ink and eggs within hours of
it being exhibited)
- vandalism ( attacks on paintings or other works of art on display
with a liquid such as acid, alkali or paint remover.)
- Good news: Artdaily is back!
- Verdict, tale of photos twist Gardner case (renegade Randolph antiques dealer who says he has access to art stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - is headed back to prison)
- Curse puts fear of God into thieving clerics (stealing books)
- Unesco World Heritage Newsletter (I have only copied parts of the complete newsletter. Information about receiving the newsletter is at the end of this message. T.C.)
- Re: Curse puts fear of God into thieving clerics
- Earthquake Shakes Italy Again (badly weakened medieval bell tower in Nocera Umbra collapsed in the new quake).
- Dinosaur bones on block at Sotheby's (Federal agents, museum curators,
paleontologists and Indian tribal representatives are flocking to
Sotheby's auction house in New York)

(Exlibris)
SAA Security Roundtable Listserv announced
The Society of American Archivist's Security Roundtable has
created a listserv. Membership in and contributions to this listserv
are initially being limited to members of the
SAA. Members' messages to the list are not moderated.
The primary purpose of this list is to facilitate the business of the
Security Roundtable. A secondary use of this list will be to share
information regarding security policies and procedures, and to
facilitate discussion of matters relating archival security that are
of general interest to members of the Round Table and SAA.
THIS LISTSERV IS NOT BE USED AS A PRIMARY METHOD OF THEFT ALERT. SAA
members with knowledge of a recent theft are encouraged to promptly
alert colleagues in their immediate area as well as to more broadly
contact institutions with similar collections. Archivists
experiencing suspicious losses are also encouraged to consider
promptly posting the details on as ISOLIST, A RESTRICTED ACCESS
LISTSERV by contacting Susan Allen at sallen@library.uclea.edu
Subject to institutional and police approval, SAA members are also
encouraged to post announcements of thefts on the following PUBLIC
listservs:
Archives and Archivists(ARCHIVES@MIAMIU.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU)and ExLibris
(exlibris@library.berkeley.edu) as well as reporting known losses to
the ABAA via the internet at http://www.abaa-booknet.com/stolen.html
To subscribe to SAASECURITY_RT-L, send the following
command to listproc@cornell.edu:
SUBSCRIBE SAASECURITY_RT-L Firstname Lastname
where "Firstname Lastname" is your real name.
----------------------

BAY AREA REPORT -- SAN FRANCISCO
$100,000 Sculpture Stolen From Gallery
A thief broke into a San Francisco art gallery and made off
with a cast-iron sculpture worth $100,000, police said
yesterday. The theft was reported Friday afternoon by the
John Berggruen Gallery in the 200 block of Grant Avenue, but
the sculpture may have been missing for as long as five
days, police said. The untitled sculpture, created by Joel
Shapiro in 1990, depicts a house with a large hole in its
roof. The piece had been packaged for delivery. While the
gallery was closed, someone apparently pried open a
fire-escape window on the fourth floor. The sculpture was
stolen from the storeroom floor several feet from the
window. Police said an alarm company received an alarm
signal at the gallery about 3 a.m. September 21, but no
gallery employees investigated the apparent breach.
-------------------------

Damaged Lincoln Statue Returned To Detroit Public Library
DETROIT, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A statue of President Abraham
Lincoln, scraped and dented from a bout with robbers, was picked up
from the city's police fifth precinct this morning by Detroit Public
Library staff. The 6-foot 2-inch, 300-pound likeness of Lincoln
was rocked off its base in front of the Downtown branch of the
Detroit Public Library, 121 Gratiot, early Sunday. Three men loaded
the statue into the backseat of a late-model, white Ford Escort,
according to an eyewitness. It was found this morning lying face
down in front of Clark Elementary School. The 82-year old bronze
figure also suffered a badly ripped foot and a gashed head. It was
returned in a library van to the library's facilities building where
the damage will be assessed. "We're just thankful to have the statue
back, no questions ask," said Assistant Director for Marketing, Pat
McClary. The Lincoln statue has stood on its pedestal at Library and
Fanner streets, on the north side of the Downtown Library, since
1958, when Henry M. Leland donated it to the Library Commission.
Leland was president of the Lincoln Motor Car Co. in 1915, when the
statute was unveiled at Lincoln Motor headquarters at West Warren and
Livernois. The statue was restored in 1986, thanks to a fund-raising
initiative by former "Detroit Free Press" publisher Neal Shine.
Shine wrote that the badly corroded and dented statue, damaged by
vandalism should be restored, and that it would cost $9,000 to do so.
Free Press readers, including a number of students, sent in
$7,000, some of it in pennies. The remaining $2,000 was contributed
by Tom Wagner, Ford vice-president and general manager of the
Lincoln-Mercury division. Sculptor and art restorer Giogio Gikas
returned the statue to its 1915 condition and it was unveiled a
second time on May 15, 1986, amid pomp and circumstance featuring
city and library officials, Shine, and the Light Guard Band.
The statue was originally cast in three-eighths inch bronze by
sculptor Alfonso Pelzer. The life-sized figure of Lincoln shows him
holding a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, the pedestal
engraved with the words, "Let man be free."
SOURCE Detroit Public Library
-------------------------------
IMPORTANT: USartcop@aol.com is not IntlArtCop@aol.com
From: IntlArtCop@aol.com
Date sent: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 00:55:05 -0400 (EDT)
To: securma@xs4all.nl, USartcop@aol.com
Subject: Re: SEPTEMBER 28, 1997

Please note the following message posted on Securma. It was sent apparently
unsigned by a person calling himself "USArtcop@aol.com" and was incorrectly
attributed to Steve Keller. Please be aware that Steve Keller has been using
"IntlArtCop@aol.com" as an email address for about five years. The above
message was sent by someone else, obviously not creative enough to find his
or her own unique email address. When someone, intentionally or
unintentionally, uses an email address, trademark, or other similarity to one
that has been established by someone else, this type of confusion is bound to
occur. While it may benefit the competitor, it has potential to cause
confusion in the business as it has in this instance, and can actually do
harm to someone's reputation.
Please be aware that USArtCop@aol.com is NOT in any way associated with Steve
Keller or Steve Keller and Associates, Inc. We at Steve Keller and
Associates, Inc. regret any confusion this person has caused.
Thank you for your understanding.
Steve Keller

In a message dated 9/28/97 7:07:53 AM, you wrote:

<<- Re: SEPTEMBER 27, 1997 (Steve Keller's reply to C.J.Schreiner's

remarks about stolen manuscripts shown to professionals)>>

From: USartcop@aol.com

Subject: Re: SEPTEMBER 27, 1997
From: USartcop@aol.com

Subject: Re: SEPTEMBER 27, 1997

In response to Dr. Scheiner's question, there are Special Agents of

the FBI in Los Angeles and New York who actually specialize in art and

valuable property theft investigations and who have many resources at

their command not available to the public. I would suggest that if a

person has reason to believe that he may be offered stolen property he

should make an effort to identify the person making the offer, try to

obtain a license plate number of his vehicle, etc., inasmuch as a

"mule" is sometimes used to offer the stolen property. I would

suggest that this person not try to hold the seller physically. It

would be advantageous to stall the seller by explaining that

something/someone has to be consulted before the purchase can be

consumated. This would allow time to contact law enforcement to

research the matter. We should be aware that even when there is a

major theft that there can be literally thousands of investigative

leads. While some may come to public notice, they may not be as

promising as the leads which do not.
-------------------

Workers drop dinosaur skeleton
Associated Press
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Clumsy workers dropped a 75 million year old
dinosaur skeleton outside a museum, bringing scientists to tears as
the precious fossil broke into 188 pieces. The Museon museum is
staging a dinosaur exhibition to mark the Dutch premier of Steven
Spielberg's film "The Lost World." One of the centerpieces was to have
been the skeleton of a duckbilled hypacrosaurus, but workers dropped
its crate two weeks ago as they were unloading it from a truck. "The
two Canadians who have spent the past two years gluing together this
skeleton bone bybone had tears in their eyes," museum spokesman Bob
Crezee
------------------------------

Neolithic gold treasures seized in Greece
By Jeremy Gaunt
ATHENS (Reuter) - A glittering collection of Neolithic gold trinkets
as much as 6,500 years old was put on display by Greek police
Wednesday after the arrest of two men accused of trying to sell the
artifacts overseas. Fifty-four golden artifacts, including beads,
brooches and pendants, were seized by police in the seaside Athens
suburb of Vouliagmeni late Tuesday night. Police said they had
arrested two men who tried to sell the treasures for $3.6 million.
They were to be charged Thursday under Greek law protecting the sale
of antiquities. One of the men said he had inherited the treasures.
``He said he got them from his aunt. She died 20 years ago. She did
not tell him where she got them but asked him to take them for
safekeeping,'' Police Chief Theodoris Pafilis told a news conference.
The artifacts, in astonishingly good condition given their age, were
displayed by police along with two guns and ammunition also
confiscated from the men. The jewelry was described by archeologists
as extremely rare. Until now, only 12 similar pieces were known to
exist in Greece. All told, the new find, including one piece of
beaten gold about six inches across, weighed 8.2 ounces.
``This is the largest quantity of gold jewelry of the Neolithic age
that exists in Greece. Most likely they come from graves,'' said
Katerini Dimakopoulou, director of Greece's National Archeological
Museum. She estimated that the pieces were made and worn between
4,500 B.C. and 3,200 B.C. ``The importance of this golden treasure is
immense. We will put them on display as soon as possible.''
Police said they had been following the two men for a year in the
belief that they were attempting to sell antiquities to overseas
buyers. They closed in on them when they returned to a car outside a
Vouliagmeni hotel where they had allegedly tried to make a sale.
In recent years, Greece has cracked down on antiquities smuggling in
an attempt to protect its proud cultural heritage.
It best known campaign is for the return of the Elgin Marbles, taken
to Britain from the Parthenon in 1801.
REUTER Reut10:33 10-01-97
------------------------
(Times of London)
Ł2m 'sting' recovers ancient jewellery in Greece
FROM JOHN CARR IN ATHENS
A COLLECTION of gold jewellery up to 7,000 years old was saved this
week after alleged antiquities traffickers tried to sell it to Greek
undercover police for Ł2 million.
The jewellery, among the oldest extant in the world, consists of 54
delicately hand-wrought gold-leaf pendants and amulets, dated
between 4000 and 5000BC, probably looted from tombs in the Cyclades
islands.
They were in an attaché case which detectives, masquerading as
potential buyers, seized on Monday at the seaside Athens suburb of
Vouliagmeni. Weighing in all less than 10oz, they have been
initially valued at Ł4 million. Two men, Andreas Bittar and
Panagiotis Evangelou, have been arrested. Twenty-nine of the
pendants are little more than flat circles, like the London
Underground logo without the cross bar.
Experts believe that they could be highly abstract feminine
figures, almost certainly meant to be hung from women's necks on
thongs. One is as big as a small hand, by far the largest specimen
of its kind yet found. They are believed to be fertility symbols.
Only a dozen have ever been found before, in Greece and Bulgaria.
Archaeologists are ecstatic. "This collection surpasses an
importance everything so far unearthed from the Greece of the
Neolithic era," said Katerina Demakopoulou, a senior consultant of
the National Archaeological Museum who specialises in tracking down
looted ancient artefacts.
"This could well have been a special treasure even in ancient
times, comparable to the mythical treasure of Troy." Mrs
Demakopoulou said she was not sure where the artefacts came from,
but tombs in the Cyclades were the most likely source.
The wealth and quality of the gold, archaeologists believe, suggest
that the Aegean islands had a well-developed gold-mining and
processing industry, and a sophisticated trade network to sell the
products, already in place before 4000BC.
Most Neolithic finds have been limited to pottery and primitive
statues, which are not the best indicators of the wealth of a
particular culture. Now historians may have to put back the date of
the beginning of the Neolithic era in the Aegean, conventionally put
at 3200BC.
Police said that they had been keeping Mr Evangelou, 49, a security
firm manager, under surveillance for more than six months before
they decided to act. His alleged accomplice, Mr Bittar, 63, was
described as a Greek-Canadian born in Egypt. Mr Evangelou denied any
intent to sell the antique collection abroad. He said that the gold
artefacts had belonged to a late aunt of his, who had told him to
take care of them, a police official said.
------------------------------
(Times of London)
Vandals prey on dinosaur treasure
FROM GILES WHITTELL
IN LOS ANGELES
VANDALS in Montana have inflicted serious damage on the fossilised
skull of one of the biggest meat-eaters that ever walked the Earth.
The FBI's finger of suspicion is pointing at a local family locked
in a land dispute with federal authorities.
The skull of what appeared to be an exceptionally large
Tyrannosaurus rex was found buried on farmland in Montana this
summer. Two thirds of the skull's left side has been hacked away. A
palaeontologist said: "The damage is about as bad as I could have
imagined."
No arrests have been made, but the FBI has been assigned to
protect the remote site near the town of Glasgow after two sons of
its former owner were seen digging there with a tractor last month.
No bones were taken then, but Steve Walton, whose father lost the
land several years ago, said that if he found any he planned to use
them to "save my farm and feed my children".
Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons can fetch large sums. Less than two
dozen have ever been found, and an example unearthed in South
Dakota in 1990 is expected to sell for $1 million (Ł625,000) at
auction this month.
The Montana find is especially interesting as it appears to be the
biggest fossil of the species ever found.
------------------------

(Telegraph of London)
Struggle to save Italy's artistic treasures
By Bruce Johnston in Assisi
THE upper basilica of St Francis and other historic buildings in and
around Assisi are crumbling after last week's earthquakes, say
officials. The tremor, one of the worst to hit the area, affected the
basilica, nine other churches and many old buildings in the central
Italian region. In nearby towns, a further 101 monuments have
suffered and 2,600 homes declared uninhabitable by officials,
who are now better able to assess the damage. Altogether, 25,000
people are homeless. Although there is often little obvious sign of
damage, the earthquakes have left their mark inside. For this reason,
experts also fear for wall frescoes in the churches.
Seismologists say the effect of two tremors so soon after each other
on Friday "twisted" the foundations of many buildings. Moreover,
although old buildings here are solidly built, the shock has left
some of the light pink Assisi stone damaged. Minor debris still
sporadically falls here. As the damage is assessed, areas below
certain facades are cordoned off. The magnificent campanile's bells,
which normally sound at noon when St Francis's birds flock to be
fed, have been eerily silenced, as if their tolling might be enough
to bring the tower crashing down. On the western edge of town,
firemen fear that the roof of the upper basilica of St Francis might
not withstand heavy rainfall. They have scaled the outside of the
building to assess the damage but came down ashen-faced.
The condition of the roof was good. But that of the walls supporting
it was much worse than was thought. News from restorers concerning
the basilica's vaulted ceiling has been no less disheartening.
Art experts have found that fresco fragments are too small to offer
much hope of restoration. Most pieces are little bigger than an old
penny. A woman heading the team of just four state-employed
restorers and volunteers picked up a fragment and cried.
"I know the fresco which includes this detail," she said. "I've
restored it twice before. To see it now like this makes my heart
sink." One of the frescoes feared destroyed was by Cimabue, and
depicted St Matthew in Judea. The other, of St Jerome in the Four
Doctors of the Church series by the entrance, has sometimes been
attributed to Giotto as a young man. The two panels accounted for
nearly 10 per cent of the ceiling. Technicians warn that is now
unstable on account of frescoed plaster having come away in
pockets from the main structure. They say the more famous wall
frescoes by Giotto depicting the Life of St Francis may also be
coming away in places. Restorers have complained that to dig out
quickly those buried under the parts of the ceiling which fell,
rescue workers used mechanical earth diggers inside the church.
They also say rescuers further damaged frescoes by climbing on to the
mounds of rubble to re-enact their discovery of the four victims
elsewhere for the benefit of the television cameras. But of all the
bitter divisions, none has been so sharply felt as that between the
people of Assisi and the local friars. One local said of the
Franciscans: "I don't see any of them rolling up their sleeves and
getting to work with a spade." The European Union yesterday donated
Ł70,000 towards restoration of the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi.
The money, from an emergency fund for preserving cultural heritage,
will be help restore the surviving frescoes.
---------------------------

(Museum-L)
Security staff
At the beginning of every school, we hold several training sessions
with security staff to discuss how to deal with the many school groups
who visit the Museum. As a new addition, we would like to create a
manual and questionnaire about security procedures. Does anyone have
a special manual for security that describes how to handle school
groups in the galleries (i.e. expected behavior, role of the docents
and security). We are looking for innovative ways in which to
address the concerns of security staff, while also assuring a
positive experience for our young visitors. If you have any written
material, would you please e-mail me it or send it to: Museum of the
City of New York 1220 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10029 ATTN: Laura
Dickstein Thank you.
---------------------------------

Myra picture to return
THE controversial portrait of Moors murderer Myra Hindley is to go
back on display at the Royal Academy within two weeks - under a
glass case and protected by security guards (Kathryn Knight writes).
Protesters defaced the portrait with ink and eggs within hours of
it being exhibited as part of the academy's Sensation exhibition of
young British artists.
It had been thought that attempts to restore the 11ft by 9ft
canvas would take months but the artist, Marcus Harvey, suggested a
more radical approach. With colleagues he has cleaned the stains
with a scouring pad and will retouch the worst-affected areas of
the portrait.
--------------------

From: Thomas Dixon <ngvcons@vicnet.net.au>
Subject: Vandalism

Given some of the incidents that have occurred in the past several
years around the world, there is always a worry that a vandal or
deranged person might attack paintings or other works of art on
display with a liquid such as acid, alkali or paint remover. I have
seen the results of these attacks, but never been involved with one.
In discussions with my colleagues, the first direction we have given
our attendants is to remove the work from display and place it face up
on the floor to prevent the spread of the liquid. Don't touch the
liquid as it may be corrosive or even toxic. The attendants are then
to contact their security control point on their radio and wait for
the conservator. The conservator arrives, does a very cautious sniff
test to try to identify the material and then....... What? Blot it up
with the edge of blotting papers? Does anyone have experience that can
give us a bit of guidance? Thomas Dixon Chief Conservator National
Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia

------------------
Good news: Artdaily is back!
ArtDaily was down for a few weeks; they are back up and publishing
news again. A site very much worthwhile bookmarking:
http://www.artdaily.com/
Ton Cremers
---------------------

Verdict, tale of photos twist Gardner case
By Stephen Kurkjian and Paul Langner, Globe Staff, 10/02/97
DEDHAM - In a case filled with enough intrigue and hairpin plot
twists to fill a novel, William P. Youngworth III - the renegade
Randolph antiques dealer who says he has access to art stolen from
the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - is headed back to prison for
possession of a stolen van. Meanwhile, a Gardner spokeswoman has
confirmed another dramatic development: Officials this week rejected
requests from two media outlets that the museum analyze photographs
that purportedly show some of the stolen art. The news of
Youngworth's conviction and the photographs altered the landscape
surrounding the return of the precious Gardner art, stolen in a bold
daytime heist in March 1990. The Dedham Superior Court jury's verdict
against Youngworth came after a bizarre five-day trial, which was
delayed for a day after he was injured Monday in a minor car crash in
Hyannis with his wife at the wheel. Just before the verdict was read,
Youngworth - looking pale and wan - was taken to Norwood Hospital.
Though he said he had suffered a concussion and spent the night in
Cape Cod Hospital, Youngworth agreed to go ahead with the trial, which
ended yesterday. Save for his purported role in the Gardner case, the
charges against Youngworth would normally be considered routine:
receiving a stolen van and illegally possessing rifle and shotgun
ammunition. The charges were filed after police raided his home and
antiques workshop in February. An informant told police that he,
Youngworth, and others intended to use the van as a backup getaway
car in an armed robbery of an oriental rug shop in Brighton.
Then, Youngworth made headlines with a bold claim. He said he had
access to the Gardner masterpieces, and could return them with the
help of an imprisoned associate, art thief Myles J. Connor Jr.
The offer came with a price. Both men wanted the $5 million reward
and Connor's immediate release from federal prison. Youngworth also
demanded that the state charges against him be resolved in his favor.
The demands went unmet.
The five-day trial here was a strange sideshow, featuring charges
that police mishandled evidence and that the Youngworths tried to
influence witnesses. Still, the jury convicted him of the stolen-auto
charge and acquitted him of the charge of illegally possessing
ammunition. The conviction puts Youngworth in jeopardy of being
judged a habitual criminal, which would result in his being sentenced
to 15 years in prison. A trial on the matter is set for Oct. 14; in
the meantime, Judge Elizabeth Butler revoked Youngworth's $3,500 bail
and ordered him held in the Dedham jail as soon as he is released
from the hospital. Youngworth's attorney, Martin K. Leppo, declined
to speculate on how the conviction will affect Youngworth's
bargaining position. But news of the photographs could have a
significant impact on those negotiations. Joan Norris, a Gardner
spokeswoman, said yesterday that the museum's director, Anne Hawley,
rejected separate requests by ABC News and the Boston Herald to
examine photos said to show two of the stolen Rembrandt paintings.
Norris said Hawley turned down the offers because both news
organizations wanted exclusives on the results of the museum's
analysis. ''Out of a sense of ethics and fair play, we rejected their
offers,'' Norris said. Also, Norris stressed that authenticating the
paintings through photographs could be difficult and risky. Computer
technology exists that allows someone to doctor photos relatively
easily - making a snapshot look like the original in its current
state, cut edges as well as chipped paint - art specialists say.
Both ABC News and the Herald did not return phone calls requesting
comment. The newspaper and the network did not tell Hawley how they
obtained the photos. Both said they had several photos of two
Rembrandt paintings, ''The Storm on the Sea of Galilee,'' and ''Lady
and Gentleman in Black.'' An ABC senior producer, who spoke to Hawley
on Tuesday, said the photos were of poor quality, Norris said. But
the Herald editor who contacted Hawley yesterday said the photographs
were of excellent quality, she said. After a front-page report in the
Herald that one of its reporters had glimpsed ''The Storm on the Sea
of Galilee,'' Youngworth said he facilitated the viewing through his
connections with those holding the artwork. Youngworth has met
briefly on several occasions with FBI agents and Brien T. O'Connor,
the federal prosecutor who is spearheading the investigation. But
those sessions ended without progress: Youngworth wanted his demands
met before proving that he has access to the art, and officials
refused to deal unless they saw the proof first. In the days before
the trial in Dedham, sources familiar with both sides said that all
discussions were sidetracked by the trial - and that the verdict
could play a key role in how the matter is resolved. A guilty
verdict, the sources had said, might make him more flexible in his
demands and lead him to broker the artwork's return in exchange for a
lenient sentence. But others had said Youngworth might be so upset by
the conviction that he would refuse - at least for the immediate
future - to engage in any substantive discussions. The US attorney's
office declined comment on yesterday's conviction. Earlier, however,
US Attorney Donald K. Stern said authorities were not willing to
engage in any discussions with Youngworth until he was able to show
concrete evidence he had access to the artwork. Ric Kahn of the Globe
staff contributed to this report.
This story ran on page A01 of the Boston Globe on 10/02/97. Copyright
1997 Globe Newspaper Company.
-----------------------

Curse puts fear of God into thieving clerics
BY RUTH GLEDHILL RELIGION CORRESPONDENT
AFTER years of trying without success to stop clergymen stealing
from his shelves, an antiquarian religious bookseller has at last
stumbled on a solution which he claims is working - a 16th-century
Spanish curse. "For him that stealeth a Book from this Library, let
it change into a serpent into his hand and rend him. Let him be
struck with Palsy, and all his Members blasted. Let him languish in
Pain crying aloud for Mercy and let there be no surcease to his Agony
till he sink in Dissolution. Let Bookworms gnaw his Entrails in token
of the Worm that dieth not, and when at last he goeth to his final
Punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him for ever and aye."
Suddenly religious shoplifters have decided to go and sin no more.
Two penitents have even sent back large parcels of books.
John Pendlebury, 34, owner of a second-hand bookshop in Stamford
Hill, North London, said he had tried a surveillance camera and
confrontation. He posted on his shelves copies of the Eighth
Commandment, "Thou shalt not steal". But still the thefts
continued. On one day alone, he apprehended an Anglican priest and a
rabbi stealing books from the Psalms section. On another occasion, an
entire half shelf of books disappeared. With thefts costing him
hundreds of pounds a year out of a turnover of Ł60,000, Mr Pendlebury
was stumped until a friend visited the monastery of San Pedro in
Barcelona. "He saw the curse in the monastery's library and
immediately thought of me," Mr Pendlebury said.
He decided to try the curse and to his surprise the thefts ceased
instantly. "Theft has always been a problem," he said. "It is a
common problem in all religious bookshops. For some odd reason it
seems to be worse than in secular bookshops."
This might be because churches attracted sinners as well as
saints, he suggested. More than half his customers are clerics.
"It is not meant to be an actual curse on anyone," he said. "It is
rather meant to prod people's consciences. I have not noticed any
books at all going missing in the last two or three months."
Times of London)
-----------------------------
Unesco World Heritage Newsletter
(I have only copied parts of the complete newsletter. Information
about receiving the newsletter is at the end of this message.
Ton Cremers)

From: owner-whnews@unesco.org
Date sent: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 00:05:13 +0100

Contents
News:
* SIGNING OF AN ACCORD FOR THE PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF
THE SITE OF LUANG PRABANG
* ITALIAN EARTHQUAKES DAMAGE THE BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS IN
ASSISI
* FIRST UNESCO ASIAN/PACIIC WORLD HERITAGE YOUTH FORUM,
15-21 SEPTEMBER
* NEW MEASURES ADOPTED FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF MOENJODARO
* UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL URGES PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN
TO SAFEGUARD THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE

** SIGNING OF AN ACCORD FOR THE PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
SITE OF LUANG PRABANG

Paris, October 2 - UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor, and Maurice
Dousset, President of the Region Centre of France, today signed an
agreement at UNESCO Headquarters on the establishment of a World
Heritage Information Centre in Luang Prabang.
This cooperation agreement is the first instance of the application
of the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World
Cultural and Natural Heritage which seeks to mobilize international
solidarity. The agreement between the Region Centre and UNESCO is set
in the framework of a general co- operation agreement for the
preservation and development of the site of Luang Prabang, which was
also signed today by UNESCO and Khamphan Simmalavong, Ambassador of
the People's Democratic Republic of Laos.
Luang Prabang, a former capital of the realm, known in the 13th
century as "the Kingdom of millions of elephants," was included in the
World Heritage List in 1995. This was more than justified by the
exemplary harmony between the site's buildings and natural
environment, its wealth of traditional French colonial architecture
and exceptional city planning.
With its contribution of FF400,000, the French region - home to three
World Heritage sites (the Cathedral of Chartres and Bourges, and the
chateau and estate of Chambord) -- will help restore a 19th-century
historic building which used to house the French customs offices in
Luang Prabang. the restoration, whose first phase has been estimated
at FF1 million, will be used as a teaching project to provide
technical conservation training before it becomes a World Heritage
Information Centre.
The general agreement also provides a frame work for decentralized
co-operation between the French town of Chinon and Luang Prabang,
which already gave rise to an agreement, signed by Yves Dauge, Mayor
of Chinon and Member of the French Parliament, and Chansi Phosikham,
Governor of Luang Prabang. Its purpose is to restore a traditional
wooden house in the city and its public spaces.
The co-operation project represents a budget of FF4 million. It is
co-ordinated by UNESCO's World Heritage Centre with support and
financing from the French ministries if culture and communication,
public works, and foreign affairs, as well as the European Union and
the French public utilities company, Electricite de France.

****

** ITALIAN EARTHQUAKES DAMAGE THE BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS IN ASSISI

Two strong earthquakes struck the central region of Italy on the 26th
of September claiming 10 lives and causing serious destruction to the
architectural heritage of the region. Above all, the second
earthquake, at 11:42 a.m., stronger than the previous one (2:33 a.m.),
seriously damaged the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. The
collapse of the vaulting damaged, probably irreversibly, several
masterpieces of Italian painting from the Middle Ages.
Particularly, the great fresco made by Cimabue, representing the
history of the "Acts of the Apostles", was split in two. Also, two of
Giotto's frescoes, out of a series of 28 dedicated to the life of St.
Francesco, were heavily damaged.
The Basilica of St.Francis, present on the Italian tentative list for
the World Heritage properties together with the historic centre of the
city, dominates the whole panorama of Assisi. The Basilica is made up
of two superimposed and independent churches. The whole of the
Basilica and the Monastery is placed in the southwestern area of the
boundary walls. The inner walls of both churches are completely
decorated with frescoes realised between the middle of the thirteenth
century and the middle of the fourteenth centuries by the major
artists of that age.

****
** NEW MEASURES ADOPTED FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF MOENJODARO

Islamabad (Pakistan) September 19 - The Committee for the
Safeguarding of Moenjodaro has made recommendations to ensure the
continued preservation of the 4,500 year-old Pakistani Indus Valley
site as it ended its final meeting on September 17.

During the meeting, UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor praised
"the success of the international campaign in protecting the site from
a hostile environment" but stressed the need to pursue preservation
and research of this unique city.

Senior officials of the Pakistani culture ministry and observers from
the international community, including delegates from Egypt, France,
Germany, Greece, Japan, Jordan, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia attended
the meeting, as did representatives of major international
organisations specialising in cultural landmark preservation.

The Committee set aside funds for the site, asked the government of
Pakistan to create an administrative structure to manage Moenjodaro
with the help of an international advisory committee, and proposed
that a research centre be created on the site. These measures were
inspired by both the International Consultative Committee and by a
key-note speech given the President of the Republic of Pakistan,
Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, at the closing ceremony in Islamabad on
September 15 of the International Campaign.

During its 5-day meeting, the Committee took stock of progress
realised by the international campaign (which was launched by UNESCO
and the government of Pakistan in 1974), and congratulated all parties
involved for its success in protecting Moenjodaro, a major example of
town planning of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation. The United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), many international and national
organisations, 25 donor countries, private bodies and individuals have
contributed to the US$24 million campaign.

But much remains to be done for the site which, since the start of
excavation in the 1920s, had been made vulnerable to the ravages of
the environment from which it was protected as long as it remained
buried underground.

Although only 10 percent of the site which is estimated to cover an
area of 700 hectares have been excavated, finds have enabled us to
learn a great deal about the ancient civilisation which flourished
along the Indus Valley between 2500 and 1500 BC. Three thousand
houses, including large public buildings, have already been fully
documented through a computerised photogrammetric system and similarly
complete information regarding 7000 artefacts has been stored in 29
CD-ROMs.

** UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL URGES PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN TO
SAFEGUARD THEIR CULTURAL HERITAGE

Islamabad, September 16 {No.97-151} - During a visit to Pakistan,
UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor today urged the people of
Afghanistan to safeguard their cultural heritage following reports
that several bombing raids have been carried out in the Bamiyan area.

Recently, a bomb fell about 10 metres from the head of the large
Bamiyan Buddha, making a crater in the cliff. Visitors to the site
reported that the bomb damaged the Buddha itself, widening a crack in
the back of its head.

The full text of Mr Mayor's appeal follows:

"Afghanistan - situated at a crucial junction on the ancient Silk
Roads - has been a cross-roads of cultures from time immemorial. Its
unique cultural heritage reflects a history marked by the complex
influences of Achaemenid Persia, Alexandrian Greece, Hinduism,
Buddhism and Islam. It includes among its many treasures the 4th and
5th century Buddhist monuments of the Bamiyan Valley, the 9th century
Nine Domes Mosque of Haji Piyada, the 12th century Minaret of Jam, and
the walled city, mosques and mausoleums of Herat.

"The age-old heritage - part of the memory and identity of Afghanistan
- has increasingly suffered from the conflicts and disasters that have
plagued the country in recent times. The irreplaceable collections of
the Kabul Museum, which came under attack during the siege of Kabul in
1995-1996, have been subject to theft and vandalism. The Buddhas of
Bamiyan - the "marvelous valley" described by the Chinese pilgrim Fa
Hsien in 400 AD - are today surrounded by mine fields, while the
monks' caves serve as bivouacs or arms stores for warring mujaheddins.
Threats have even been issued against the sacred Buddhist monuments
themselves, singled out by destructive fundamentalism as the object of
its uncomprehending hatred.

"In response to calls from the representatives of Member States,
international organisations, foundations and associations, from
cultural and scientific communities, from religious bodies and from
personalities and individuals world-wide, I appeal again to those
directly concerned and to the international community to ensure that
the cultural heritage of Afghanistan is respected and preserved for
the benefit of present and future generations. I will raise the issue
at all levels inside and outside the United Nations system.

"The people of Afghanistan have suffered long and terribly in the
struggles - involving both internal and external forces - that have
wrecked their country for almost two decades. When the longed-for day
comes when the fighting stops, the precious cultural heritage of
Afghanistan will be one of the foundations on which a peaceful society
can be constructed. Let all those who today exercise any kind of
authority in Afghanistan practice and impose respect for the common
cultural patrimony, remembering there can be no reconciliation without
tolerance and mutual understanding. Likewise let all those within the
international community in a position to influence people and events
in Afghanistan employ their best endeavors to safeguard a heritage
that belongs ultimately to all humanity. In this context let me pay
tribute to the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural
Heritage (SPACH) with which UNESCO plans to increase its
collaboration. We shall pursue this co-operation in the fields of
training, on all levels, and raising awareness within Afghanistan and
the world at large on these crucial issues."

During a press conference Mr Mayor also deplored the complete
destruction and plundering of the Buddhist site of Haddah, in eastern
Afghanistan. He also pleaded with international dealers to be cautious
when they are offered art objects from Afghanistan.

Finally, Mr Mayor called on the people of Afghanistan to respect the
UNESCO- sponsored Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property
in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 1954) which states that
"damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means
damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, since all people
contribute to the culture of the world."

---------------------------

For the latest information on World Heritage, consult the UNESCO World
Heritage Centre WWW pages at http://www.unesco.org/whc/welcome.htm .
Mail submissions to WHNEWS to whnews@unesco.org or to the Editor,
wheditor@unesco.org. The next electronic issue of this Newsletter will
appear in about two weeks, depending on the volume of news submitted.
The printed Newsletter is available at:
http://www.unesco.org/whc/news/index-en.htm.
WHNEWS is provided by the World Heritage Centre, the Secretariat for
the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage, as a forum for the exchange of information on
matters relating to the World Heritage. The opinions expressed do not
necessarily represent those of the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, or
the World Heritage Committee.
Fax: +33 1 4568-5570; Mail: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 7 place de
Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, FRANCE.
----------------------

Re: Curse puts fear of God into thieving clerics
(see our posting to the list of October 3, 1997. T.C.)

To: securma@xs4all.nl
From: Sam Lanham <slanham@hctc.net>
At 07:09 AM 10/3/97 +0000, you wrote:
>A 'must read' for the internet book community!
>Ton Cremers
>Curse puts fear of God into thieving clerics

What exactly is the point of this posting, Mr. Cremers? I see no grins
or other indications that it is not meant seriously so I assume you
intend it as a real warning.
None of us likes a book thief, but is it appropriate to brand the
entire clergy--all of whom at one time or many times are customers of
religious book stores and without whom the religious book business
would suffer? Is it reasonable to assume (as the headline above) that
all book thefts from religious book stores are by clergy? I have no
doubt that there are clergy who steal or have stolen books and I do
not defend clergy as saints but the implication of your "must read"
posting that clerics are more prone to stealing than other people is
offensive.
As a Presbyterian minister, must I now conceal my identity when I
enter a book store so as to avoid coming under immediate suspicion
from some book seller who has seen your diatribe?
Sam Lanham (slanham@hctc.net)
--------------------------------

Earthquake Shakes Italy Again (badly weakened medieval bell tower in
Nocera Umbra collapsed in the new quake).
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Associated Press Writer
ASSISI, Italy (AP) More earthquakes shook central Italy today, sending
people fleeing into the streets and inflicting new damage on areas
hard hit by a pair of strong temblors last week, including the
Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
"People can't take it anymore," said Giancarlo Sagramola, a civil
defense official in Fabriano, where one desperate man jumped from a
second-story window.
He was unhurt but at least six other people were injured in the first
and strongest of today's quakes, which struck at 10:55 a.m. with a
magnitude of 4.8.
A series of aftershocks followed, including a quake with a magnitude
of 3.5 at 1:04 p.m. and another almost as strong about 40 minutes
later.
The temblors struck as experts were cataloging pieces of rubble in
the famed basilica and studying ways to reinforce its structure.
The damaged ceiling survived today's shocks, said the Rev. Pasquale
Magro, head of the basilica's museum. But more stones fell from the
damaged south transept facade and showers of plaster rained down
inside.
The central regions of Umbria and Marche, as well as neighboring
Perugia and Tuscany, have trembled with aftershocks since the strong
quakes on Sept. 26, when part of the basilica's vaulted ceiling
collapsed.
Four people were killed and two of the cathedral's treasured frescoes
were reduced to rubble. In all, 11 people and the quake damaged many
other historical monuments, some of which, like the basilica,
sustained more damage today.
Italy's civil defense chief, Nicola Barberi, said the strength of
today's temblors caught authorities by surprise.
The head of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics, Enzo Boschi,
said buildings weakened by last week's big quakes should be evacuated
until they can be inspected again.
He said it was impossible to predict when or if more aftershocks
would hit the region. As a precaution, authorities evacuated Assisi's
hospital.
The new quakes complicated the work of relief teams who have been
trying to find shelter for people driven from their homes and to
assess the toll on the area's treasures.
Culture Minister Walter Veltroni said the damage to historical
monuments would amount to millions of dollars.
Assisi is one of Italy's most visited areas, and the entire region is
dotted with beautiful, well-preserved medieval towns.
The epicenter of the strongest quake today was about 20 miles from
Assisi in Col Fiorito, a town heavily damaged last week.
The ANSA news agency said the badly weakened medieval bell tower in
Nocera Umbra collapsed in the new quake.
In Foligno, an ancient bell tower in the main square was leaning so
badly today that emergency workers said they would have to demolish
it.
The epicenter of last week's quakes, the strongest of which had a
magnitude of 5.5, was near Foligno. Its badly damaged center has been
closed off and its residents evacuated.
------------------------------

Dinosaur bones on block at Sotheby's
NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (UPI) _ Federal agents, museum curators,
paleontologists and Indian tribal representatives are flocking to
Sotheby's auction house in New York as the bones of a Tyrannosaurus
Rex named Sue go on the block. The New York Times reports that Sue
might sell for as much as a bone- chilling $1 million in Saturday's
bidding, making it the most costly fossil ever to reach the open
market.
Most of the proceeds of the sale will go to Maurice Williams, a Sioux
Indian, on whose land the bones were found. But the land is part of an
Indian reservation and therefore the federal government has an
interest as well.
The Times says the auction of an almost complete Tyrannosaurus Rex
fossil is unprecedented, although teeth and bone fragments are
sometimes sold commercially.
Roughly 90 percent complete, Sue is considered by experts to be the
most comprehensive fossil of a ''king tyrant lizard'' ever found. Only
the forearm and a few foot and neck bones are missing.
The sex of the 50-foot-long dinosaur remains uncertain. It was named
for Susan Hendrickson, the fossil hunter who discovered the skeleton
seven years ago in Faith, South Dakota.
Sale of Sue's remains has sparked fierce debate between academic
paleontologists and commerical dealers.
Many scientists believe fossils harvested by collectors are lost to
science, while dealers say fossils gradually weather out of the rock
in which they're embedded and would be eroded if not rapidly
recovered.
Copyright 1997 by United Press International.
------------------------

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