Oscar White Muscarella

Oscar White Muscarella (March 26, 1931 – November 27, 2022) was an American archaeologist and former Senior Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he worked for over 40 years before retiring in 2009.

He joined the University of Pennsylvania team at the site of Gordion, Turkey, in 1957, the year he married Grace Freed, a fellow graduate student (in Latin) who later became an archaeological illustrator.

He continued to work at Hasanlu, as well as other Iranian sites including Dinkha Tepe, Nush-i Jan, and Sé Girdan; he also discovered what he believed to be the important Urartian city of Qalatgah.

He was appointed acting head of the department in late 1970 and early 1971, outspoken about the museum’s acquisitions policies with respect to antiquities in light of the recent UNESCO convention, which opened for signature in November 1970.

This began a years-long legal battle between Muscarella and The Met concerning his wrongful termination, which was eventually resolved with his full reinstatement as Senior Research Fellow in 1978.

It is now widely recognized that the illegal antiquities trade increases the value of and demand for important artifacts, which creates incentives for the plunder of sites and encourages the production of forgeries.

Since looters do not document their digging, as occurs with scientific excavation, their activities end up destroying the archaeological context of the artifacts they uncover.

[10] He alleged that curators are often hesitant to address awkward questions about objects in their collections that have been acquired by purchase, donation, or loan for the exhibition.

"[11] Muscarella gained some notoriety in his attempts to unmask certain important artifacts as forgeries, including some in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.