ANCIENT-ART IN MODERN CONTEXT

Archaeological monuments are major tourist destinations. Over time, they have been looted and handicrafts developed to create a market in real, fake, and produced antiquities. These tourist arts satisfy Western tourists' interest in the ancient past. Archaeology has been partially responsible for today's burgeoning heritage industry and for the problems inherent in selling antiquities to tourists. Archaeology has also been a tool in structuring national ideology which, in turn, has used ancient symbols to create a tourism industry. Tourist arts that draw on ancient themes are often more than simply a response to consumer demands, they are also a response to nationalism.