Posted on 08/27/2007 6:10:26 AM PDT by Brujo
European diplomats in four-wheel drive cars have caused millions of dollars worth of damage to a fossilised whale lying for millions of years in the Egyptian desert, a security source said on Sunday.
"Whale Valley officials have informed the authorities that people from two diplomatic corps vehicles destroyed the fossil," the source told AFP after the destruction was discovered around 150 kilometres (95 miles) south of Cairo.
Two cars drove into the protected area on Friday and then refused to stop when asked to do so by wardens who nevertheless got the vehicles' registration numbers which the source said were from "a European country."
"The damage is more than 10 million dollars," the source said.
The site, known as Wadi Hitan (Whale Valley), was home to whales around 40 million years ago when the area was ocean. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to hundreds of of whale fossils.
Is there really that much of a market for fossilized whale?
What bizarre appraisal techniques are used to come up with a $10MM figure for some old bones?
Somehow, this must be George Bush's fault.
Diplomats hiding behind immunity should be deported.
Yes, there certainly is a market for fossils, and a complete whale skeleton would fetch a pretty penny from a museum or wealthy collector. I think a million or so is more realistic. The most expensive fossil ever sold was an excellent Tyrannosaurus rex specimen from South Dakota, the famous one known as "Sue". She sold for $8.4 million.
-ccm
My guess would be that there is vigorous behind the scenes negotiation going on. This article is probably a shot over their bow. (“We know who you are and we are not above embarrassing you in the press so you better come across with the money.”)
That always cracks me up. I think it's because there's a sizable number of Americans who are in awe of British accents and Europeans in general because of “Masterpiece Theatre”. Having lived and worked in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, I can tell you it just isn't so.
It's hard to see how Americans can be labelled "provincial" since our country is composed of people from a huge variety of national, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
The "melting-pot/mosaic" United States is at least as cosmopolitan as most other countries.
Q. What is it Americans don’t like about Europe?
A. Europeans.
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Didn’t a bunch of Ethiopians with spears beat them?
May I ask why these fossils are still in the ground, not being studied, if they are so important?
World Heritage Site again? BARF. I didn’t know they extended their 1-world nonsense to pre-history (i.e., non-humans).
They’re probably the rare Bush-supporters from Europe.
Italy conquered Ethiopia, although it wasn’t really anything to be proud of. It was mostly a shakeout for equipment and tactics. In 1937 Mussolini had an obelisk nabbed out of Axum and moved to Rome (there are more *Egyptian* obelisks in Rome than there are in Egypt, or so I’ve recently read), and Ethiopia had been demanding its return ever since. That was returned in 2005, after being cut into three pieces for the move. Not sure if it had been cut into three pieces when it was moved in 1937.
But the tour guides tell you that all of the obelisks were brought there by Cleopatra and Marc Anthony.
:’)
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