Ownership of artifacts among topics discussed at history symposium

If ownership of an automobile can be proven by a pink slip and real estate by a title deed, ownership and possession of historical artifacts is more complicated.

That was the subject discussed by Franklin Elementary teacher Tim Huey in his talk, "Antiquity Ownership: Who is the Rightful Owner of the Rosetta Stone?", which was the first part in a six-part history symposium presented at the Cape River Heritage Museum Wednesday evening.

Billed as a roundtable discussion with the theme "Who Owns the Past?", the program's speakers were all Southeast Missouri State University graduate students. About 25 spectators, many of them Southeast students, attended the event, which covered other topics including a history of community gardens and the preservation and restoration of local cemeteries.

In focusing on the ongoing debate over the ownership of antiquities, Huey used the example of the Rosetta Stone, the slab of basalt that let to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The Rosetta Stone, which was discovered in Egypt by Napoleon's French troops in 1799 and then seized by England as war spoils two years later, has resided in London's British Museum for more than 200 years. Today, Egypt views the stone as a national treasure that has been stolen, Huey said, and their ongoing efforts to have it returned to Egypt have received some international support.

"Both sides have an argument for ownership," Huey told the group.

Huey said that in the future disputes over antiquities would likely be resolved either by international courts or by negotiation and compromise. "Gone are the days of finders-keepers," he said.

Downtowns' decline

Paul Arnold's presentation, "Main Street to the Miracle Mile: The Transformation of Small Town USA," chronicled the the decline of downtown areas of small towns.

Arnold said most small towns have downtown areas that were built around a railroad depot, which was the transportation hub. But with the popularity of the automobile in the early 20th century, downtown areas began to be congested.

High real estate prices downtown and the building of roads away from downtown helped to drive new business and residential growth to the outlying areas of most small towns.

"People stopped going downtown to shop," Arnold said.

Some cities have given the name Miracle Mile to linear shopping districts.

Arnold said the "Miracle Mile" was so named because many felt it was a miracle that a string of retail stores could thrive in what had previously been pasture land.

That change in shopping habits came with a high price tag, Arnold said, as people got out of the habit of talking with their neighbors as they did when everyone went to town on the weekend to do their shopping, and the sense of community suffered.

While downtown areas are turning to tourism and specialty stores to bring back shoppers, Arnold said the same problems that plagued them are now hurting the "Miracle Mile" merchants -- congestion and high property prices.

The symposium was sponsored by museum and the Southeast Missouri State University history department.