since one object of archaeology is preservation, who's best able to preserve an artifact is best fit to protect it. if microsoft wanted to spend a billion dollars in bribes and materials to preserve/steal pompeii even from the rightful owners, i think you need to look at the bigger picture here. hypothetically, if they're not able to preserve their own artifacts they should be given to people who can. after all, what good is being owner to a handful of dust? in that case, you have to consider who's best able to handle the things, preserve them, and their intent. sometimes you have to do morally objectionable things for the greater good.
if, however, there is no claim of ownership, it's up for grabs, right? how is something that's owned by no one able to make a person a criminal? we're not talking about air or water here. and who's to say that all those objects were black market fare? i'm sure quite a bit of it were sold by the rightful owners. the 'it's part of our culture' only goes so far with me. i'm sure the magna carta is considered a gov't document making it gov't property. for the sake of argument, let's say it's not and it was passed down legally through the generations and the rightful owner decided to sell it. it's his property, it's his right. it might be a shytty thing to do, but, hey, it's his perogative and he shouldn't be viewed as evil, particularly considering something like that is his inheritance. what *would* be wrong would be if the gov't confiscated that based on the country's legacy, a definition that gets muddy real quick.
private collectors who have stuff put away in their mansions, never to be seen by anyone other than spoiled guests, shouldn't be villified. again, it's not that great a thing to do, but as long as what they've got they have legally, what fault can you find there? that it's important to some old culture? well, where was all that 'culture' when the thing came up at auction? where were the 'culture's' treasure seekers? and what is the 'culture' going to do with it, stick it in a museum? i figure if it's gotten by this long without said object, it's doing just fine. it's their own dumbass fault for losing it in the first place if such a thing is so precious. and how much of the ancient 'culture' is still being practiced? anything short of a surviving religion i'd be leary of. besides, i'd imagine a lot of 'private' collectors are actually businesses that have rescued stuff otherwise left to rot or discarded and put on display, even if in their lobby.
no one should be able to take advantage of poor countries with lots of primo loot. at the same time, what's to gain if general motors says it'll dump 10 million bucks into a project but wants part or most of the artifacts? how does it serve the 'culture' if the things are buried underground about ready to be bulldozed?
if they dredged up a boot from the titanic and put it on display, can some ancestor come along and say, 'hey, that's my great grand pappy's boot and it should belong to me. give it to me now'? what right of ownership should be extended to the people who rescued the item? personally, my attitude would be, look, tell ya what we're going to do: we're going to put this stupid boot back on the bottom of the ocean, and when you want, you're more than welcome to go and get it yourself, you stupid son of a *****.
i'm sure private collectors (by that i mean rich people with unlimited resources, corporations, and, indeed, museums) have probably done more good than not in managing not only to rescue but to preserve artifacts from oblivion. basically, what's on my property i assume i own it. i don't think a gov't has a right to claim ownership based on 'cultural inheritance', providence or shaky legacy arguments any more than a gov't has a right to come in and say, well, now that you've done all the work, we're going to confiscate your gold mine, on your property, which until today was legally yours.
i'm totally confused by shipwreck excavations. i believe 'finders keepers.' in my best french accent, 'but, that eez a french sheep from two hundred years ago. it belongs to zee french.' first, your sorry asses should have been out here looking for it and, second, it shouldn't have sunk where i could find it.