Artifacts taken at Beech Island
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
BEECH ISLAND — Authorities say $1,000 worth of historic artifacts have been stolen from the Beech Island Historical Society. Aiken County sheriff's Lt. Michael Frank said Monday that arrowheads, English coins and metal buttons from the 18th century were among the artifacts stolen. Frank said the items were taken late last week. Deputies said someone walked into the building through a back door, smashed a glass case and took the items. No suspects have been named.
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Posted by auger on August 26, 2008 at 3:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To the thief/thieves, eBay is the best place to sell this stuff.
[Anti-thief text mode=on]
To the authorities, keep an eye on eBay.
[Anti-thief text mode=off]
Posted by wjhamilton3 on August 26, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's certainly getting hard to protect small, isolated cultural depositories and historic sites from vandalism and theft. Dozens of historic structures have been torched over the years. Lots of small collections have been stolen. As painful as it is to small and rural communities, this stuff needs to be kept in an institution large enough to afford security. A lock on a small building isn't going to preserve valuable artifacts any longer.
I love the little, local places and the forgotten buildings, but like a lot of things, they're slipping away.