Is There Providence When Selling Antiques From the Middle East?

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The sale of illicit antiques and artifats, is prohibited on ebe. Live auctioneers told us that anybody selling items on their platform has to do their due diligence to make sure that what they're selling is legal. They said they have a zero tolerance policy on lesting anything that's suspected to be stolen. But when we asked if they take an active role in making sure the items sold on the web site are all legal, they didn't give us an answer.

Priceless cultural artifacts have been plundered and sold for hundreds of years. You can find these relics in museums and in private collections. In recent years, with the advent of online marketplaces, researchers have begun to find a lot of artifacts for sale on the web.

The Syrian War has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties. Not to mention, hundreds of billions in damages. And that battle has played out on land considered to be the cradle of civilization -- a place rich with layers of archeological history.

Producer Zeina Dowidar and her team on the Kerning Cultures podcast tell stories about the Middle East and North Africa. For this episode, they took a comprehensive, inside look at how one country struggled to retain its cultural heritage in the midst of a brutal conflict.

Divining Provenance

Plus we have an interview and preview of the podcast Real Good