Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

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Lisbeth
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Re: Gold antiques stolen from Skukuza and we learn via the media

Post by Lisbeth »

Thieves nab rare gold relics
By DAVE CHAMBERS

SA National Parks is under fire after centuries-old
gold artefacts were stolen from one
of its museums.
The artefacts include a necklace, bracelets
and beads excavated from two graves at the
Thulamela archaeological site in Kruger
National Park, which was inhabited between
the l3th and lTth centuries.
The artefacts were stolen in December from
the Stevenson-Hamilton Knowledge Resource
Centre at Skukuza, but SANparks has yet to
officially inform the Ditsong National Museum
of Cultural History in Pretoria, custodian of the
artefacts.
"Gold artefacts are an extreme rarity and
that is why the Thulamela theft is a travesty,"
Sian Tiley-Nel, who manages the museums at
the University of Pretoria, told Nature.com.
Kevin MacDonald, an archaeologist at University
College London, told the scientific journal's
website that new techniques were providing
more information about the composition
and provenance of ancient metals.
Samples such as those from Thulamela
could help researchers trace the origins of
Africa's pre-colonial gold trade.
Tiley-Nel said the University of pretoria was
also seriously concerned about the state of the
Mapungubwe collection on loan to SANparks
and kept at the Mapungubwe Interpretation
Centre in Musina.
"Site inspections have revealed deteriorating
conditions, poor curation and improper
collections management practices at the [centrel,
which was not originally designed to
house ori$nal museum material," she told
Nature.
Mapungubwe, a 13th- and l4th-century
trading centre, was excavated from the lg30s,
while Thulamela was uncovered in the lg90s.
Between them, the sites yielded the most significant
archaeological gold discoveries in
Southem Africa.
Leading South African science journalist
Sarah Wld reported that the theft had raised
questions about growing efforts to return culturauy
important materials to the region where
theywere found.
'There is always a trade-off of security verCurators
said they
wer€ considering
withdrawingartefacts
fuom SANPart<s
sus local relevance and tourism benefits at
remote regional museums," said MacDonald.
"If I were custodian of such materials, I
would think hvice before putting them into
wlnerable situations.'
A SANParkspokesman told Nature: "SANParks
has a duty to tell the full story about its
parks and, where it necessitates exhibiting
artefacts, steps are taken to put such on display."
But the University of Pretoria and other
curators said they were considering withdrawing
artefacts from SANParks and halting talks
about future loans.


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Re: Gold antiques stolen from Skukuza and we learn via the media

Post by Richprins »

Thanks, Lis! O0


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Re: Gold antiques stolen from Skukuza and we learn via the media

Post by Bushcraft »

This sounds like an inside job. I assume the staff have been polygraphed and if not why not as it’s surely the first step :-?


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Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

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No breakthrough in Thulamela artefact theft
The disappearance of the invaluable items from the museum in the Skukuza library was first reported in December 2016.
4 hours ago


Tereasa Dias


Image



Thulamela gold. Photo: Marius Loots
SKUKUZA – No arrests or any noteworthy breakthroughs have been made in the investigation of the theft of the golden Thulamela artefacts.

The artefacts comprised jewellery and gold coins dating back to the period between 1250 and 1700. Their discovery, in 1996, made world news.


The excavation was headed by Dr Maryna Steyn, Coen Nienaber and Marius Loots, researcher at the anatomy department at the University of Pretoria.

William Mabasa, spokesman for SANParks, confirmed that the theft occurred on December 14, 2016. Only the artefacts were stolen. The other items were left in the cabinet, untouched.


Mabasa said the cabinet had been locked, no forced entry was visible, and the cabinet lock was also undamaged. There was a strong suspicion that the theft was an inside job.



Spokesman for the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Capt Dineo Sekgotodi, said the investigating officer assigned to the case has confirmed that there has been no new leads in the matter. Previous investigations into the theft revealed that only one staff member had the key to the cabinet, but had not been in the area at the time.

Loots told Lowvelder that the theft was a great loss. “I thought it would most likely happen as the artefacts were sent to a place with no controlled environment,” he added.

He said many dubious collectors anticipated these kind of situations and took advantage of it. “But in this country it could have just been opportunists who were just after the gold.”


https://lowvelder.co.za/428381/no-break ... act-theft/


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Re: Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

Post by okie »

Hmmmm...ah well , a piece of someone's heritage is gone forever O**


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Re: Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

Post by Richprins »

Ironic, isn't it.


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Re: Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

Post by Richprins »

Just some more articles to store:



The great Kruger National Park gold heist that no one is talking about
[Thulamela Gold via Krugerinfo]
Article Author:
Heritage Monitoring Project
Jacques Stoltz
Wednesday, August 23, 2017 - 16:03

Experts call the disappearance of gold artefacts ‘colossal’, ‘a travesty’ and ‘serious breach of security on the part of SANParks’. The Heritage Monitoring Project reports on the theft of items from the Thulamela collection which recently came to light – months after the incident took place.

Questions are being asked within the heritage, museum and archaeological fraternity, why the theft of the Thulamela gold collection from the Kruger National Park early in December last year remains shrouded in secrecy. Museum insiders we spoke to say they are beginning to suspect that the theft has been swept under the carpet by authorities. They also allege that the reticence of the South African National Parks (SANParks) might be hampering the recovery of the items as it is standard practice to report heritage crimes to Interpol and the industry as soon as possible, as this has proven to aid in the recovery of objects quicker, while alerting other museums who may become future targets.

It also appears that SAPS and the Hawks are still no closer to making arrests despite strong suspicions that the theft was an inside job or at least aided by someone internally – as the artefacts were found missing from a locked display case of tempered glass that only employees of SANParks had keys to.

In mid-December last year, staff at the Stevenson-Hamilton Knowledge Resource Centre in Skukuza discovered a locked but partially empty glass display case. The case had contained gold coins and jewellery items from the royal graves of Thulamela – one of the so-called gold kingdoms. Other items from archaeological excavations at the site – including pottery as well as an important piece of blue Chinese porcelain – were left undisturbed.

The discovery of Thulamela in 1997 made news headlines around the world. The burial site of a man and a woman showed that Thulamela, a stone walled, hilltop site in the Soutpansberg range, formed part of the Great Zimbabwe culture and as at Mapungubwe, was home to a wealthy elite – suggestive of a complex and highly stratified society.

Carbon dating indicates that the site had been occupied between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries. That Thulamela and Mapungubwe had much in common is clear. Tests conducted on gold artefacts from the two sites show that some of the gold items came from possibly the same source. These are the only two archaeological gold collections in South Africa.

After the discovery, the collection was moved to what is now the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History in Pretoria. In 2013, Ditsong agreed to a loan request from SANParks to display the collection at the newly revamped and established Skukuza Museum. SANParks made a similar request to the University of Pretoria for the Mapungubwe collection with the intention of displaying the two gold collections side-by-side. It is believed that the university declined the request due to security concerns.

A private contractor was appointed by SANParks to transfer the items from Ditsong to Skukuza and to oversee the final design and construction of the exhibition.

Reports in the Beeld newspaper however suggest that experts now believe that standard conservation and museological practices were not followed by SANParks, and that Park authorities were negligent. What is further disturbing is that SANparks has not informed Ditsong of the theft, nor provided any details. According to staff at Ditsong, SANParks is the owner of the collection, however Ditsong remains the official repository in terms of a permit issued by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).

In another twist, Beeld further reports that SANParks management believes that not all of the gold artefacts from the collection actually made it from Ditsong to Skukuza. Ditsong however told the HMP that SANParks signed the loan agreement confirming that all artefacts arrived safely at the destination. According to them SANParks has never raised any issues regarding missing artefacts.

Should the SANParks allegations be true, this would raise serious concerns about conservation and collections management measures taken at the time of the loan transfer as it is standard practice for museum staff to be present at the packing and unpacking of collections to ensure that all items are properly recorded and accounted for. What is equally troubling is that professionals apparently advised SANParks against the simultaneous display of so many gold items from the collection.

Asked for comment as to why SANParks did not issue a statement regarding the theft, General Manager for Communications and Marketing at Kruger National Park, William Mabasa, says that the Park had hoped that the perpetrators would’ve been apprehended much sooner. According to Mr. Mabasa, there is no new information available in respect of police investigations underway.

SAHRA confirmed that SANParks only informed SAHRA about the theft in June this year – almost seven months after the fact. In terms of the National Heritage Resources Act, the theft of declared heritage objects must be reported to SAHRA immediately.

As Nature reports, the theft of the Thulamela gold collection has also turned attention to the temporary loan of the Mapungubwe collection to SANParks by the University of Pretoria who have raised ongoing concerns about the safety and security of original material in the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre on site. According to Sian Tiley-Nel, Manager of the University of Pretoria Museums and the Chief Curator of the Mapungubwe Collection, “the University of Pretoria is deeply concerned about the growing risks to the safety, security and care of the loan to Mapungubwe National Park.” Mapungubwe was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003.

At the time of writing, requests for comments from SAPS and the Hawks had not been received.



The Heritage Monitoring Project has been contacted by museum experts from around the country concerned about the safety of museum collections. If you are aware of museum collections at risk, please submit your concerns to the endangered heritage campaign (click here for details). The deadline for submission is 31 August 2017.


http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/arti ... king-about


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Re: Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

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https://sahris.sahra.org.za/cases/thulamela-gold-theft

Status: DRAFT

HeritageAuthority(s): SAHRA

Case Type: Heritage Crime

On 14th December 2016, an employee of Kruger National Park stationed at the museum discovered that some of the Thulamela Gold was missing from the display case. The discovery was immediately reported to the South African Police Services (SAPS) who are stationed in KNP. SANParks security services immediately also escalated the matter to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) also known as Hawks. The stolen items include 17 pieces of gold jewelry (necklaces, bangles).

ApplicationDate:
Monday, September 11, 2017 - 11:06
CaseID: 11644


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Re: Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

Post by Lisbeth »

Nothing new there -O-


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Re: Gold Artefacts Stolen At Skukuza - No Arrests

Post by Peter Betts »

Here we go again people not fit to hold high security Jobs are given the Keys to Our Heritage


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