The art thefts from the National Gallery and the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Olympia in early 2012, as well as the serious dimensions of illicit trading of antiquities were the reason for this temporary exhibition. The A.M.Th. found the opportunity to talk about the mutilation of history and the loss of memory.

The exhibition aimed to highlight the size and the multiple aspects of the problem, the irreversible changes it causes in our collective memory and identity, and to inform the public, by raising awareness for our struggle to protect our cultural heritage.

More than one hundred ancient artefacts were exhibited, all coming from illegal excavations, with photographs of illegal trading catalogues and rare archival material. The comparative presentation of two ancient gold wreaths (one from the Aristotle University excavations at Sanctuary of Eukleia in Vergina, the other from the Getty Museum, a product of trafficking which was repatriated in 2007), highlighted in a very eloquent way how trafficking inevitably leads to the loss of knowledge and in essence, the loss of our history.

A bilingual information booklet and a leaflet were designed as part of the exhibition, along with an educational programme and the projection of a documentary on illicit trading of cultural goods.