Five years ago--in response to complaints from Greece, Italy, Egypt and other countries--the Assn. of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) gave its members stricter guidelines for acquiring pieces originating from ancient lands.

Now the AAMD, consisting of 217 member museums in North America, has set up an object registry on its website to help circumvent adding looted antiquities into museum holdings.

Member museums can post images and information about newly acquired antiquities whose provenance since 1970 is not clear and complete.

Countries of origin and other claimants can gather information from the website and come forward with evidence on objects.