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IMPERIUM ANCIENT ARTS Freqently Asked Questions |
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Not surprisingly, people often have a lot of questions about our ancient artifacts. It's only natural to want to find out more before buying anything. If you don't see your question here, feel free to contact us!
Even without modern technology, people in the ancient world owned a LOT of things. Most of the artifacts of the ancient world haven't gone away — they've just been lost and buried over time. There are many more artifacts in existence than are wanted for display by museums or for research purposes by universities and institutions. [top]
All over the world, professional archaeological digs are being done every day. Each dig usually turns up many thousands of items. The important thing is WHERE items are found, and archaeologists map out and catalog everything. Once that's done the artifacts are often divided up between "important" items, and "not important" items. A great many pieces recovered are very common — oil lamps and amulets produced by the thousands from standard molds, for instance. Museums don't need them for display, and institutions don't need more of them for research. These unneeded common items are disbursed to the public to fund new archaeological digs. [top]
Also, the items we carry are both common and less than "museum" quality. It would cost more to fake the items we carry than it takes to get the real thing. Fakes DO get produced, but only for things that a forger can make money on, nearly always very "high end" objects of art. All of our artifacts are of course fully guaranteed to be authentic. We invite our customers to have them checked by outside sources, such as art galleries and museums that deal with ancient history. [top]
Also, since we don't maintain a gallery or mail out catalogs, our business costs are low. We can afford to offer most items at costs below those of larger art galleries. [top]
As long as artifacts for private sale are obtained through professional, legal channels, collecting is a force for preservation rather than destruction. Most museums and research institutions are strained to capacity with limited funds and people. They simply don't have the capacity to safeguard every small ancient item — things that, in the hands of private collectors, are treasured and passed down for generations. Look in any museum, and you'll find that many of the pieces on display were donated from private sources. Without private interest in archaeology and the ancient world, history wouldn't be a science at all. By far the greatest dangers to ancient sites are pollution, construction, and industrialization. The remains of entire cultures have been bulldozed to put in airports, roads, and other structures of modern society. In 2006, for instance, the town Ecijain in Spain bulldozed and destroyed all the remains of an entire major Roman city known as Colonia Augusta Firma Astigi, to put in a 299 car underground parking garage. All artifacts from this unexcavated site, from buildings to small items were completely destroyed in the name of "progress." [top]
Virtually all common artifacts come from the sites of long-abandoned houses, towns, and cities. Ancient village and city trash heaps are perhaps the largest source for common items - things that were cast away in antiquity. We also make certain not to carry items that might have come from cultures whose living descendants still carry on their ancient heritage. For instance, we do not carry items from northern Native American civilizations. [top]
Also, since these pieces are usually very common items that are recovered again and again in digs, the types of artifacts we offer are very well understood. We fully guarantee the authenticity of our items. We invite you to verify anything you purchase with a director at your local museum, or with an established art gallery that offers ancient items. [top]
If you have any questions about our items, feel free to contact us by
e-mail at cassius622@aol.com or by surface mail at:
Imperium Ancient Arts Or call us during business hours at 207-985-1847 - We'll be happy to help! |