The authors of Chasing Aphrodite have now embarked on a new plan. Apparently, they hope to put out documentation received from Italian and Greek law enforcement onto the web, and then rely on activists to play the part of vigilantes in identifying looted material on the market and in museums. See http://chasingaphrodite.com/2012/03/12/introducing-wikiloot-your-chance-to-fight-the-illicit-antiquities-trade/
I agree with the following comment on their blog:
Elizabeth Marlowe March 12, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Has the photo archive been made available to the museums, dealers and auction houses yet? The �gotcha� approach of this project seems unnecessarily antagonistic. If the goal is to embarrass museums, then yes, let members of the public catch them with their pants down. But if the goal is to track down as many of the pieces in the Medici archive as possible, then wouldn�t it be more productive to let the museums check the archives against their own inventories and come clean first? And THEN post the photos of whatever pieces still haven�t been located?
I would also note that this project presumably blurs the lines between investigative journalism and activism. But that is more an issue of journalistic ethics than cultural property law.