The protection of antiquarian property has become, in recent years, a prominent subject of public and legal concern. The question has generated much political debate and media attention, as can be seen from the continuing argument about the Elgin Marbles and from the publication of such works as Russell Chamberlin’s Loot: the Heritage of Plunder (Thames and Hudson, 1983). Recent newspaper reports have disclosed such interesting controversies as the proper final destination of the Sphinx’s beard and the moral implications of the recovery of artefacts from the Titanic, while litigation has ranged over such diverse topics as the bones of St. Edward the Martyr, the characterization of antoniniani as silver coins for the purposes of the law of treasure trove and the Crown’s rights in relation to the Lusitania. On the legislative front, there has been (inter alia) Lord Abinger’s Portable Antiquities Bill. The subject has, moreover, generated a strong interest in the legal approaches of other nations: only last February, for example, this Quarterly noted an important American case involving constitutional problems resulting from underwater archaeology: [1986] 1 LMCLQ 16.

The publication of Prott and O’Keefe’s work, the first volume in a projected series of five, is therefore especially timely. It is pleasing to be able to observe that the book responds