The Ottoman Law of 1884 could be considered the first instance that archaeological material from the region was deemed important enough to pass legislation to ensure its safe keeping.
The Ottoman Law of 1884 was made in response to the increase of foreign interest in the area and the looting of archaeological material from the Empire.
[2] The 1884 Law established national ownership over all artifacts in the Ottoman Empire and sought to regulate scientific access to antiquities and sites.
While the law can be seen as the first step towards regulation, it can also be seen as imperialism since the Ottoman Empire's desired to gain material from its territories rather than for the preservation of the archaeological legacy.
By controlling archaeological goods and taxing the antiquities, the government effectively regulated European access to heritage.
Even with this provision, many foreign archaeological missions continued exporting through a complex smuggling network that linked Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.
The British Government enacted the Antiquities Proclamation in 1918 which served to recognize and protect the importance of the regions cultural heritage.
Archaeological focus shifted from questions of chronology to a realm of trade relations, social complexity, and political structures of past societies.
The authority oversees antiquities, supervises digs, issues permits to excavators and is responsible for restoring historic sites.
[4] The Israel Antiquities Authority is aware that the registration number scam is taking place but lacks the resources to clamp down on it.
The 1978 Law includes the following: If the antiquity is of national importance, written approval of the Minister of Education and Culture is required.
A person claiming to have discovered or found the antiquity before the development of this law is required to provide proof.
A person is not allowed to take out of Israel an antiquity of national value unless he has a written approval of the Minister of Education and Culture.
Since the restrictions are easily avoided, looting or the selling of fake pieces is on the rise to keep up with the growing market.
A shop owner can easily take a pot and cover it with dirt to give the appearance of age, or reuse registration numbers after the original piece has been sold.
The IAA believes that ninety-nine percent of the thieves are shepherds and other inhabitants from poor villages surrounding the sites.
[7] "All the objects that are on the market are stolen, period," said Denny Pinkus, an antiquities dealer with a store in the 4,000-year-old Mediterranean port city of Jaffa.
Without the export permit the sale isn’t officially registered and the dealer can take the registry number and use it on a new, and often looted, antiquity.
Material that was looted as recently as a week ago could illegally enter the legal market through an exchange of registry numbers.
Dealers speak of a disjunction between the renewal of a license, the backlog of processing at the IAA, and the opening of antiquities shops in the Old City.
If everyone else were open why would you close?”[citation needed] One type of collector is the tourists who constitute 99 per cent of antiquities buyers.
Christian pilgrims seek objects from the Byzantine era, and the demand is greatest for items that are marked with a cross.
They are influential public figures who have put pressure on parliament to not change the current law, which permits trading in antiquities.
Dayan accumulated his extensive private collection through unauthorized and unscientific digs, using Israeli soldiers and army helicopters.
The Israel Museum Jerusalem's department of Israeli antiquities is made of pieces both lent or donated by the IAA, or confiscated from robbers or from dealers.
An example of the problem existing in Israel is when American tour guide and university lecturer John Lund was arrested on charges of illegally providing ancient antiquities for sale.
Lund was caught before selling antiquities in a Jerusalem hotel to members of his tour group who wanted to buy ancient artifacts, but was released with only a warning.
When Lund continued offering ancient antiquities for sale, however, authorities decided to arrest him and seize the coins and checks they claim he had obtained illegally.