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In the Company of Grave Robbers

(Jerusalem Post) Lauren Gelfond Feldinger - Ahmed has become one of a cadre of West Bank Palestinians who some say are stealing away the clues to the remaining history of ancient Israel. "Since the intifada started there is no other work - so everyone digs," Ahmed says. On a typical morning, Ahmed says he is just one of dozens of locals toting a pick and shovel. Unlike the authorized, supervised, and documented digs with professional archeologists that dotted the area before the Oslo Accords ceded control to the Palestinian Authority in 1994, the diggers today are herders, waiters, and lawyers who can find no other way to make a living. Archeologists cringe as amateurs ignore the rules of digging, recording, and preserving historical sites. "In the next generation we won't be able to see and enjoy what's there," says archeologist Ronen Bitan. "It's a shame as an archeologist, regardless of political opinion, when my legacy is being ruined: that's a real tragedy."
2004-07-30 00:00:00
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