Voiceless

The PITCHER project (Erasmus+ Programme, 2021-2024) designed and tested a set of Open Educational Resources focused on improving the capacity of teachers and educators in preparing new learning experiences to support the fight against archaeological looting and illicit trafficking of cultural goods. This educational resource, designed for museums or teachers organizing visits to museums or archaeological sites, aims to raise awareness among middle and high school students about the consequences of archaeological looting. It highlights how looting hinders the advancement of knowledge and deprives us of information about our shared history.The activity is based on a comparison of museum labels: those of looted objects, often reduced to minimal descriptions due to lack of contextual information, and those of objects discovered through proper archaeological methodology, rich in historical and scientific details.Students explore, for example, the story of a Gallo-Roman figurine from the Couan treasure in Burgundy, looted and sold illegally. Deprived of its original context, the figurine lost its "voice," meaning its history. Only through legal excavations, conducted after the looter’s confession, was its true story reconstructed.