Open season for looters in unguarded ancient city

This time it's Turkey:

More than 20 unlicensed excavations have taken place in the last week alone in Pedasa, home to remains from a civilization that settled in the area 3,500 years ago. The smugglers who carried out the amateur archeology "dig" reportedly dismantled and removed a 3,000-year-old fountain, the Doğan News Agency reported yesterday.

Located on the Gökçeler Mountain near the Konacık region of Bodrum, Pedasa was founded in 1500 B.C. as the capital of the Leleg kingdom. The ancient city, once the commercial heart of Leleg and one of the most developed of the eight cities of Caria in antiquity, is currently left to its fate in the absence of guards to protect it.

Posted by David on February 13, 2007 10:49 AM