Fighting over the salvage of ancient wrecks

Sources in the ephorate, which belongs to the Culture Ministry, say the law is a scandal since it does not take into consideration an archaeology law that is enshrined in the constitution and therefore has greater force. They also note that soon Greece will no longer be of any interest to divers since its underwater treasures will be easy game for antiquities smugglers.

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It seems to me that, as a practical matter, the rule of the open frontier applies to underwater wrecks: what you find and can protect is yours, and what you can't protect goes to whoever takes it.

Not exactly the nicest code of ethics, but as a practical matter I don't see much alternative.

BTW, the same standard would seem to apply to things like the Moon.

Yeah, as a practical matter, I'd agree. Greek tourism though is important to the economy of Greece, and US travel overseas has been off lately. May have something to do with the price of hydrocarbons, or due to the sluggish US economy (which is an outgrowth of the steady rise of OPEC oil), or due to the anti-US thugs who remain in de facto control of European streets.

Yeah, hence my thugs remark. Greece also has had a probably small gang operating for some years in urban Greece, murdering various foreigners, mostly those working on some form of foreign investment in Greece. And stuff like this, from a probably dead link:

Greece Probes Police Links To Fascists
1997
AP
An investigation was launched last week after the nationwide broadcast of a videotape showing about 40 members of a police anti-terrorist group assaulting a man, apparently an Albanian immigrant. Made in 1993, it also showed the men lauding Greece's 1967-1974 military junta.

Two of the men in the tape were anti-terrorist squad leaders and both were immediately suspended.

Romaios said one organization believed to have ties to the officers was "Golden Dawn," a neo-Nazi group known for its hatred of Jews and foreigners.

Leaked to the press by a legislator, the tape increased concerns about anti-foreigner sentiments in Greece and anti-Semitism in the police force. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, most of them Albanians, have been living here since the early 1990s.

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