"With so many cultural relics circulating in the market, if we release a batch, will it not cause fluctuations in market prices?" Mu Ling asked, holding an iron key.
At this time, Huangshan found a gold plate with some writings engraved on it. Such things are very rare here. After all, what the Mongols like most is gold, not culture, so if these words are not engraved on gold
, those Mongolians who robbed may not be brought back.
"I didn't expect to find a gold cuneiform tablet here? This thing is very rare!" Han Peacock took the gold tablet from Huangshan's hand and looked at it carefully.
"It's a pity to sell this thing." Mu Ling said.
Han Kongque said without even raising his head: "This thing can't be sold. It will be troublesome even if people see it."
"Trouble?" Mu Ling was a little confused.
Han Kongque said: "Didn't I just say that there are many bloody antiques on the market now? If this gold plate is exposed, people will think it is a smuggled item."
"You mean the black goods stolen from war-torn areas?" Mu Ling said.
"Yes, there are a lot of things like this recently." Han Peacock said with a smile.
Huang Shandao: "Others can sell it, why can't we?"
"The main reason is that I can't buy the price." Han Kongque said.
When he said this, the others said nothing. If such a good thing cannot be sold at a high price, then they are stupid and would think of selling it.
Now Han Peacock and the others have found gold versions of the things they found, which are gold coins, and some are glass products. These things are small and easy to carry. Although the price on the black market is higher, they always fail to reflect their value.
The real value, so Han Peacock never thought about selling it.
Of course, like the iron key, because there are many rumors outside, Han Peacock can sell a few, after all, it is useless if there are too many of them.
Recently, there have been four ongoing investigations by Scottish courts, all related to Syrian antique collections, but without more financial support, it is impossible to shut down the dirty goods trading network.
Snatchers have easy access to well-established trading networks, and smuggling routes often run through Turkey and Lebanon.
These items include ancient cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, jars, coins, glass products, and the popular mosaic inlay technology. These items are easy to be damaged, but they are also easy to transport.
Things that are smaller and easier to hide and transport are more valuable, but the market is more passionate about the value of plunder because the prices of these things are volatile.
Theoretically speaking, something with stains is only worth a small part of its true value.
Of course, these all depend on the actual situation. Illegal large items may only be worth 10-15% of their true value on the black market, but smaller items that are easier to transport can be worth more.
The Islamic State is not the first terrorist organization to use bloody antiques to support them. They are not the only organization in the world to do this. In 1974, the Irish Republican Army stole masterpieces, including Victoria
Mill's oil painting Lady Lettering and Her Maid is estimated to be worth $12 million.
It is precisely because of the high value of these cultural relics that large numbers of people destroy and plunder them.
These cultural relics are widely circulated. Among the cultural relics looted in Syria and Iraq, few will see the light of day again. They will disappear. Most of them will become private collections or be stored in basements in places like Europe and America that have special fascination with the past era.
Among them, some will flow into Japan and Australia.
If the collection is recovered, it will take investigators several years to secure a conviction.
In fact, if it weren't for the low price of such cultural relics, Han Peacock would definitely have to sell some gold coins, because now the largest one in the world is doing such a thing.
Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recovered about 60 artifacts, including an exquisitely crafted head of Assyrian King Sargon II estimated to be worth $1.2 million.
This stretches the lost treasure investigation back to 2008, when it was revealed that Hassan, a Dubai-based antiquities trader, was transporting illegal cargo to the United States.
Turkey was listed as the country of origin for the artifacts, with documents claiming a head of Sargon II was worth $6,500 and other smuggled artifacts including an Egyptian burial ship worth $57,000.
Some shipments are shipped directly to major New York museums, galleries and art studios.
The investigation was unique in that it led to allegations of money laundering that allowed agents to profit from bank accounts.
However, the artifacts recovered by ICE date back to the Iraq War.
Concerned that war would cause severe damage to artifacts, archaeologists, museum directors and others in the collections community met with Pentagon officials in 2003 to persuade them to protect the archaeological sites.
But the negotiations failed, and the American armed forces shamelessly built a camp on the precious archaeological site and called it Halliburton's Hanging Gardens.
The Pentagon failed to prevent the looting of the National Museum in Baghdad, and instead encouraged it, believing the artifacts would be safer elsewhere.
As Ashton Hawkins from the American Cultural Property Council said: "The legal circulation of cultural relics in the market is the best way to protect these cultural relics."
This opened the door to looting, with more than 15,000 items stolen from the museum, most notably a 5,000-year-old Uruk ritual vase, and the uruk, the world's oldest musical instrument, also found
time, the damage was serious.
The remaining hundreds of pieces have never been found, documents documenting the 500-year history of the Ottoman Empire have been lost, and works by Picasso and Miro were destroyed in fires.
The losses caused by these Iraqi bandits are estimated to reach 10 billion.
It may take decades for these cultural relics to appear on the market after being passed through many times.
Linda Albertson, president of the Antiquities Crime Investigation Association, said the economic activity caused by the Islamic State on the black market is difficult to estimate because it would take years for these artifacts to reappear in the public eye.
For example, cultural relics from Angkor Wat in Cambodia did not appear at auction until 40 years after the country's civil war ended.
Collectors who buy these cultural relics of unknown origin bear huge responsibility for the destruction of world cultural heritage, but this has become a very dangerous game.
The well-known smugglers in Turkey and Beirut are already very secretive, and they are extremely distrustful of buyers.
If these cultural relics are obtained from the Islamic State, they will not only be exposed and suffer losses, but also face charges of supporting terrorism. This can be said to be the most powerful blow to the illegal trade of cultural relics.
But it is difficult for such things to be exposed, so it is also a trouble for Han Peacock to obtain so many cultural relics. If it is revealed that they come from the mausoleum of Genghis Khan, Outer Mongolia will be held accountable.
If the provenance is not revealed, people are likely to suspect that these cultural relics come from war-torn areas, are stolen goods, and are black goods. In this way, these cultural relics will not only fail to sell at a high price, but will also cause trouble for Korean Peacock.
Of course, the trouble is not big. If Han Kongque is determined to sell it, it will definitely be possible, but the value will definitely not be too high. In this case, why should Han Kongque ask for trouble?
"There are really too many treasures in this batch. Even if we build a museum to display them, it will be troublesome." Han Peacock had a headache. He did not expect to find so many treasures during this treasure hunt, especially the boxes of gold coins.
Han Peacock really didn't know how to deal with it.
Of course, the more things, the better, but if there are too many, just cleaning, maintaining and storing them will be a big hassle.
"We haven't seen Genghis Khan's coffin yet! There's no need to worry now. It's not too late to worry after we find his burial objects." Another passage was opened, Huangshan pointed at the dark cave and said.
Han Peacock was stunned. From here on, they really entered the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan, and the previous ones were just treasures that the Mongols later plundered.
"I wonder how many things were buried here." Mu Ling said with some fascination.
The golden demon grabbed the wooden spirit who wanted to enter and said: "Be careful, this is the emperor's mausoleum, there will definitely be no shortage of hidden weapons."
At this time, Han Kongque walked in first. As he walked, Han Kongque said: "The mausoleum of Genghis Khan is different from other imperial mausoleums. This mausoleum does not even have a diamond wall, so there is no danger inside."
"How could this happen?" Jin Yao was a little dumbfounded.
Han Peacock laughed: "This may have something to do with the secret burial system at that time. Also, there are many vicious arrangements in the maze above, so here, there is no need to continue to set up mechanisms."
"Be careful!" As soon as Han Kongque finished speaking, Huangshan walked in front of him. This was so Han Kongque could only hold him back.
"Boss, didn't you say there's no danger?" Huangshan said with a depressed look.
Han Peacock burst out laughing, because Huangshan just hit a statue, and it seemed that his nose was hit hard.
"There's no danger, but if you hit the wall, there's nothing I can do about it!" Han Peacock turned a corner and came to Huangshan Mountain, where there was an upside-down statue.
"Pure gold?" The golden demon illuminated the statue with his hand lamp and was a little surprised when he saw the reflected golden light.
"It's the Golden Family! It shouldn't be difficult to make some golden people." Han Kongque helped the statue up and felt that it was not as heavy as he thought.
"It should be wearing a golden armor, and there might be a real person inside, who should be Genghis Khan's guard back then." Han Kongque said.
"The guard only wears golden armor?" the golden demon said in disbelief.