Are there still people selling cultural relics on eBay?

When word spread that Ethiopian artifacts could be purchased on eBay and other trading sites, many people were shocked.

Artifacts sold on eBay include centuries-old scrolls and Christian Orthodox Bibles, often at below-market prices - an antique manuscript, for example, was sold for just €688.

eBay has removed some Ethiopian artifacts from its listings that lacked provenance evidence after a German-based expert on Ethiopian manuscripts first discovered the problem and posted screenshots of the eBay site on social media .

Some experts believe that there is a proliferation of fake antique artifacts posted on eBay and other online sites. It is impossible to determine whether the items are genuine or fakes based solely on the photos that accompany the online listings. However, the Ethiopian government believes the objects may be authentic and has sought help to track them down and recover them.

Ethiopian officials are in contact with UNESCO about the listed objects, Ethiopian Minister of State for Tourism said: "We will continue to work hard ... to bring our heritage back to Ethiopia. UNESCO will also take the objects back from the eBay marketplace."

Ethiopia's civil war, now 15 months in the making, has seen churches, monasteries, mosques and museums looted, and many of Ethiopia's antiquities plundered. Many of the looted items appear to have originated in areas designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Ethiopia's Tourism Minister Sileshi Girma told DW his office was investigating the extent of the damage and looting and would release its findings soon.

The difficulty of tracking down such objects is compounded by the sheer number of Ethiopian historical artifacts. One estimate is that the libraries and archives of Ethiopian monasteries contain approximately 200,000 ancient manuscripts. On top of that, Ethiopian artifacts have long been bought and sold, and are therefore scattered around the globe.

Some researchers say the most important thing now is to find out whether the artifacts sold on eBay are authentic or replicas.

eBay

Cultural Relics

Ethiopia