"Historical 100 idols stolen over decade in Nepal" BY Kantipur News KATHMANDU, May 26 - During the last 10 years, at least 138 antique idols and artifacts were stolen from the country, according to records at the Department of Archeology (DA). Among them, at least eight were recovered. DA officials, however, believe that the number of stolen idols could be higher. Interestingly, at least another 412 artifacts were recovered by police during this period. Among them, only eight had been reported to the DA as stolen. The origins or venue of theft for more than 408 of the recovered artifacts were not established. "Our lack of knowledge of stolen cultural property and of exact numbers is not the only problem. We do not even know how much of such property we have today," says Bishnu Raj Karki, Chief Archeological Officer at the DA. None of the thefts were investigated in detail, and the records of many stolen images have gone missing. When asked about the missing records on thefts, Karki said that the DA seldom gets full details about stolen artifacts. Officials blame our religions, which prohibit photographing of the artifacts. "As religion does not permit us to take photographs or study the artifacts, it's difficult to keep proper records on them," says Kosh Prasad Acharya, director at the DA. According to Acharya, the DA plans to maintain proper data on the country's cultural property from next fiscal year. http://www.kantipuronline .com/kolnews.php?nid=1106 74