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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160216-ted-prize-sarah-parcak-satellite-archaeology/ describes a new system to allow crowdsourcing volunteers to identify looting of archeo sites thru sat. photos. Their warnings will be relayed to gov'ts, which if not corrupt will blah, blah, blah. This system doesn't entirely assume good intentions, because the looting locations are slightly veiled to even the volunteer spotters. Archeologists have to tweet or whatever their activities to avoid being tagged as looters. New sites may be discovered that have no human visits yet. Looks like potential for abuse, like looting the sites by night by clever robbers who can ID locations by detective work or connections, but hope springs eternal...

I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks in Istanbul earlier this year, with the aim of seeking out as many late Roman & Byzantine ruins as possible. I explored the Sultanahmet district, finding ruins of the great palace, I walked along the land walls (imagining the Ottoman siege as I went), I toured the Imperial way and I ventured north into the Galata region, across the Golden Horn. Pics and snippets of all the historical finds here: http://www.gordondoherty.co.uk/writeblog/walkingthroughconstantinople Hope you like