Urbanization, particularly in terms of private housing construction, constitutes a mounting threat to cultural heritage sites in Palestine. At risk are not only archaeological sites, but traditional architecture and other locations of cultural heritage. The Ramallah province serves as a practical case study by which to examine how this process of urbanization affects the cultural heritage of the region, because of the increased rate of development the province has experienced over the past decade. This urbanization has proceeded with relatively little governmental oversight and administration by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and is typified by an absence of planning, which often places sites of cultural, historical, and archaeological significance in severe jeopardy. This article considers both the internal and external factors affecting the urbanization of Ramallah and proposes solutions to mitigate the dangers to cultural heritage posed by unchecked urban growth.

Archaeological sites are composed of unique, complex landscape settings including architectural remains, visually and spatially interrelated spaces, and ecologies with topographical features and landforms framing them. Today, they are subject to many pressures caused by developmental changes as well as improper conservation and planning strategies. One reason is that heritage conservation is still heavily focused on architectural features and less on the landscape setting. Wider landscape components set an authentic backdrop for cultural heritage and make the setting vivid and legible. Concentrating on this trend, this article explores the visual values of archaeological sites from the tripartite conceptualization view of visual landscape integrity, namely considering the archaeological landscape setting as an artifact, three-dimensional space, and scenery. Using the archaeological site complex of Bergama in Western Turkey as a case study, I propose a visual landscape–oriented approach as a tool for the sustainable conservation and presentation of heritage sites in the process of cultural resource management.

The role of ethical rules and codes of conduct in the field of art law and international protection of cultural property, together with the adoption of the relevant international conventions, has constantly increased in the last decades. This article considers the main codes of conduct drafted by international organizations as well as international, national, public, and private institutions, federations, and associations. The focus is on their influence on international trade as instruments of art market regulation. Specific attention is paid to the interaction with the private international law approach and to a survey of both direct and indirect effects of these rules on the international circulation of cultural property.

When the idea of heritage conservation arises, one specific facet of the ensuing reflection is bound to emerge at some stage: the (inevitable) tension between property rights, on the one hand, and the right to culture (of which heritage conservation is an aspect), on the other. This tension intensifies when the cultural material to be conserved concerns a traditionally sensitive issue—that of the burial places of the ancestors of people designated in the South African context as previously disadvantaged.

Stephanie Manning's mother, Marina Ovsenek, had a penchant for garage sales. In 2000 the daughter was driving the mother to the hospital for her cancer treatment when they stopped at one of these garage sales. The mother paid $5 to buy a box containing a brooch and five gold-colored coins. She kept these in the room in her house that was used to store various items, including other trinkets bought at garage sales.