Which ancient civilizations artifacts are the most valued by collectors today?

Answer 1

Archaeologists, particularly during the Golden Age of Archaeology were more treasure hunters than scientists. They valued gold artifacts more than any other. Now that archaeology is a science artifacts are treasured more for the knowledge gained by their discovery than how valuable they are in a physical or monetary sense. For example, the Dead Sea Scroll were written on parchment which has very little monetary value, however, what was written on them is what makes them priceless. They were found in 1947 in Israel in desert caves, accidentally by shepherd boys tending their flocks. They were still of little value until Israeli archaeologist found that they were almost a complete renditions of the Old Testament, except for the book of Esther. The Scrolls were eventually used to update the Old Testament. So their inherent value is more based on faith than money.