Forensic traceable liquid for deterring trafficking in cultural property: pilot implementation in Iraq

Koush, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1163-0916 (2023) Forensic traceable liquid for deterring trafficking in cultural property: pilot implementation in Iraq. Journal of Field Archaeology. ISSN 2042-4582 doi: 10.1080/00934690.2023.2291237

Abstract/Summary

This paper introduces and evaluates forensic traceable liquid technology as a potential deterrent for trafficking in cultural property, earlier employed in the UK to reduce heritage crime and recently implemented in Iraq to protect over 573,000 archaeological objects in five museums. The study suggests a theoretical framework and unveils novel qualitative and quantitative empirical datasets acquired through surveying and interviewing 42 law enforcement practitioners from 21 countries. The acquired data confirms the theoretical underpinnings and reveals that forensic traceable liquid, physically applied at the source, is viewed as an efficient deterrent on the market side, providing hard evidence of provenance, enhancing traceability, increasing the certainty of being convicted of dealing in illicit material, introducing risk, and invisibly guarding objects along the trafficking chain. Notably, source-country respondents appear more enthusiastic about this innovation than market-country ones, while the support for its wider implementation is unanimous.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114472
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/00934690.2023.2291237
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Uncontrolled Keywords	Archeology, Archeology
Publisher	Informa UK Limited
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