Daniel Lorello, an archivist charged with stealing documents from New York State, says he “took things on an as-needed basis to pay family bills, such as house renovations, car bills, tuition and my daughter’s credit card problem.” Lorello could spend up to 25 years in prison if convicted.  

A study of 490 fourteenth-century skeletons from East Smithfield Cemetery in London shows that people already in poor health were more likely to die when hit with the Black Death.  

Forensic archaeologists examined a Renault FT-17 tank at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, in order to learn its battle history. “You don’t see too many of these, so this is a special opportunity,” said Douglas Scott of Nebraska Wesleyan University.  

An iron ore mine was discovered in the Ingenio Valley of Peru’s Andes Mountains. Kevin J. Vaughn of Purdue University says that the Nasca people probably used the red-pigmented mineral for ceramic, body, textile, and house paints.  

A German collector will return more than 40 pre-Hispanic textiles to Peru. 

The first part of this interview with Turkey’s minister of tourism focuses on his plans for the country’s many archaeological destinations. “There must be transportation, accommodation, and security. While we are trying to continue our restoration and renovation efforts, we are also trying to move other resources to those places frequented by tourists,” he said.  

Museum scandals aren’t limited to California. Former Yakama Nation Museum curator Marilyn S. Malatare and her daughter have been indicted for stealing artifacts and selling them to pawn shops.  

Craig Childs asks asks, “How much more of the world’s artifacts do we need?” in this editorial for The Los Angeles Times.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, January 29, 2008. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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