Law

[tomclark]

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Rangers say artifact thieves are active in South Georgia.

Some of the thieves actually video themselves committing crimes and post the videos online.

The thieves video themselves digging up and stealing the artifacts, to prove they are genuine. But law enforcement uses those same videos to convict them.
From the video "Rivers right over there. We get out boat in the water. Come through the woods. We're one of our dig sites."
This is actual video from You Tube posted by a man who pled guilty to artifact theft last week.

From the video "Look at that. That is fine. Look at that. Wow. Heat treated red. Worked down."

Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Corporal Greg Wade said "Artifacts bring a lot of money. There is a lot of collectors. If you make a video, of you remove the point from the dirt, that makes it more authentic. It'll bring more money that way."

From the video "There's the arrowhead."

Wade said "Particularly Dougherty County has a lot of areas rich in artifacts. Rich in Indian Heritage. So there is a lot of different areas like this, and a lot of different people doing the same thing."

From the video "Oh yea, that's a bead. My very first indian bead I've ever found in my life, right here."

Eddie Ballard pled guilty last week to 45 counts of artifact theft, and was sentenced to 3 years behind bars. Prosecutors said some of the artifacts he stole are priceless because of their rarity.

From the video "It just don't get any better. I was blessed today to find a cache like this. Got 22 of them."

Wade said "Wildlife just like artifacts belong to everybody. And you don't want people making profit off of either of them." State DNR Law Enforcement rangers say the stolen artifacts in South Georgia bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. It's illegal, and the state is prosecuting.

 

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[sandchip]

Blows my mind that you're not supposed to pick up surface finds eroding out of a river bank. Only a complete moron would think this makes sense.

But see, you have a brain.

 

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[GaRebel1861]

[FONT=&quot]South Georgia artifact thieves video their own crimes - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Local news coverage and the video of what was posted that got him into trouble.
[/FONT]

 

[-=METAL=-]

I don't agree with disturbing context by digging or looting when it's not permitted. However, at the same time, I do not agree with draconian laws.

How serious is the crime really? Did the man tear up 300 acres? Was anyone decapitated in the process? Did the skies fall? Did the seas boil? I just feel that this type of thing should be more along the lines of a misdemeanor. I know I'll probably get a backlash on this, but it's not like the guy was dismembering corpses.

Yes, it is wrong to disturb the context of a historical site, yet corporations do it all the time. I can think of a local site that was completely destroyed for the sake of a supermarket distribution center. Who's getting a felony for that? There was another site close to it that was in the process of being destroyed until one of the workers blew the whistle and the town got involved. Had it not been for the whistle blower, the site would be gone today, but of course, none of the people responsible would have suffered any consequences.

So the corporation can maul acres upon acres of historical property and it's ok, but hey lets stick it to Joe Blow who dug up 20 arrowheads.

 

[beadman2]

i agree with metal....except for the fact of disturbing and context by digging.....f**k it ....do you know how many sites have already been disturbed by previous collectors...i could see if it was a completly new undisturbed site.....but if you think you will get the complete undisturbed context of soil from any known historical site.....think again....you wont....most have been explored well before us collectors now....and they call us looters ...screw them!...if it wasnt for us a lot of these artifacts wouldnt be brought to light

 

[unclemac]

I don't agree with disturbing context by digging or looting when it's not permitted. However, at the same time, I do not agree with draconian laws.

How serious is the crime really? Did the man tear up 300 acres? Was anyone decapitated in the process? Did the skies fall? Did the seas boil? I just feel that this type of thing should be more along the lines of a misdemeanor. I know I'll probably get a backlash on this, but it's not like the guy was dismembering corpses.

Yes, it is wrong to disturb the context of a historical site, yet corporations do it all the time. I can think of a local site that was completely destroyed for the sake of a supermarket distribution center. Who's getting a felony for that? There was another site close to it that was in the process of being destroyed until one of the workers blew the whistle and the town got involved. Had it not been for the whistle blower, the site would be gone today, but of course, none of the people responsible would have suffered any consequences.

So the corporation can maul acres upon acres of historical property and it's ok, but hey lets stick it to Joe Blow who dug up 20 arrowheads.

have you ever seen what they do to the corn fields in the midwest when they want to put up a subdivision?....first they go in and scrape off all the black dirt down to the subsurface....all the artifact bearing soil that is....

 

[NC field hunter]

Metal has a point. I read an article about Wal-mart building on burial sites. Notice the plural...."sites"!! One mound was destroyed. The artifacts that were salvaged are displayed in that walmart. Crazy!

 

[sandchip]

...So the corporation can maul acres upon acres of historical property and it's ok, but hey lets stick it to Joe Blow who dug up 20 arrowheads.

The difference between the Wal-Marts and the Ballards is ownership. If he owned the property (or had permission), he could dig all he wanted without being arrested.

As far as burial sites go, they should be left alone. By everybody. But the laws really only apply to the looters and crackheads. The unwritten part of the laws is that powerful corporations and developers are exempt, or better put, big money turns heads. Ain't hypocrisy sweet?

 

[NC field hunter]

http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/09/wal-marts-history-of-destroying-sacred-sites.html


$$$

 

[-=METAL=-]

The difference between the Wal-Marts and the Ballards is ownership. If he owned the property (or had permission), he could dig all he wanted without being arrested.

As far as burial sites go, they should be left alone. By everybody. But the laws really only apply to the looters and crackheads. The unwritten part of the laws is that powerful corporations and developers are exempt, or better put, big money turns heads. Ain't hypocrisy sweet?

I understand the ownership factor, but it's the removal of artifacts that comes with the stiff penalties, otherwise it's just trespassing. My main point is that the crime is not serious enough to be branded as a felony, especially when so many sites and artifacts are destroyed with impunity. And when the public hops on the pitchfork and torch bandwagon, it perpetuates the ridiculous notion that these penalties are justified.

Yes, yes, so we should collect arrowheads on our own property, I get it, but it's only a matter of time before the state decides we should get a felony for that too.