What if some of the locals want it taken away for protection, but the government wants it destroyed?
There’s no clear ‘owner’ in many cases. I think it places where it’s uncertain, then we should prioritize saving the artifacts over the ones that seek to destroy them.
Who do you recognize as the authority to make that decision though? If the locals are currently ruled by a terrorist group or Nazis or whatever, do they get to decide? What about the locals that disagree with the government currently in power?
And an answer of ‘if we just didn’t needlessly meddle’ might be the ideal, but it’s ignoring the realities that we have meddled and some countries are unlikely to stop doing so. We have to accept the world we have not the one we wished we had.
What’s the opinion on certain high risk countries where there’s a high likelihood of the artifacts simply being destroyed? If I remember correctly ISIS and other similar organizations have burned or bombed several historical sites before.
I upgraded my PC with my Bitcoin. Making $800 off a $20 investment was a great deal IMO.
I wish I’d forgotten to check on it…
Not my deepest darkest secret, but my mom did pull apart my torn pants to flash an entire wedding party my underwear after I accidentally ripped my pants on a swing set (outdoor wedding). I was trying to quietly leave without drawing attention and she deliberately showed it off to like 50 people who all laughed.
So yeah, that one haunts me pretty regularly.
Organized crime would have dedicated bureaucracy offices dedicated to illegally filing titles, deeds, tax returns, etc. Basically launder all their money in a single night.