Grave robbing
Encyclopedia
Grave robbery, grave robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a tomb
or crypt
to steal
artifact
s or personal effects
. Someone who engages in this act is a grave robber or tomb raider. A related act is body snatching, disinterring a grave
for the purpose of stealing a corpse rather than for stealing other objects.
Grave robbing has caused great difficulty to the study of archaeology
, art history
, and history
. Countless precious grave sites and tombs have been robbed before scholars were able to examine them.
In modern times, grave robbers are often lower-income individuals. Grave robbers sell their goods on the black market. Though some artifacts may make their way to museums or scholars, many end up in private collections instead.
jade burial suit
s were believed to be myths for many years until two were discovered in 1968; it is now believed that most jade burial suits were long ago removed by grave robbers.
ian tombs are one of the most common examples of tomb or crypt robbery. Most of the tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings
were robbed within one hundred years of their sealing (including the tomb of the famous King Tutankhamen, which was raided at least twice before it was discovered in 1922). As most of the artifacts
in these ancient burial sites have been discovered, it is through the conditions of the tombs and presumed articles that are missing in which historians and archaeologists are able to determine whether the tomb has been robbed. Egyptian pharaohs often kept records of the precious items in their tombs, so an inventory check is presumed for archaeologists.
There are many examples of grave robbing in the Ancient World outside of Egypt. For instance, the Romans (Byzantium
) also suffered decades of theft and destruction of tombs, crypts, and graves.
has taken place with regards to Native American
burial grounds and has been a continual process over the past 200 years. This grave robbing was prevalent during the 18th century due to the idea that Native Americans were not considered "people" and were more or less deemed to be "savage". Therefore, their property and burial grounds were not respected and the bodies and artifacts in these locations were often sold or looted.
Modern grave robbing in North America also involves long-abandoned or forgotten private Antebellum Period to pre-Great Depression
era grave sites. These sites are often desecrated by grave robbers in search of old, hence valuable, jewelry. Affected sites are typically in rural, forested areas where once-prominent, wealthy landowners and their families were interred. The remote and often undocumented locations of defunct private cemeteries make them particularly susceptible to grave robbery. The practice may be encouraged by default upon the discovery of a previously unknown family cemetery by a new landowner.
. But they're meaningless scientifically, like a bank vault or a jewelry store. Every item in them comes from looting," said Michael J. Snarskis
. "Only the National Museum
has an active research program with didactic exhibitions based on its own scientific excavations."
Grave robbers often sold stolen Aztec
or Mayan
goods on the black market for an extremely high price. The buyers (museum curators, historians, etc.) did not often suffer the repercussions of being in possession of stolen goods and that the blame (and charges) are put upon the lower-class grave robbers. Today's antiquities trade
has become a streamlining industry – and the speed these artifacts enter the market has grown exponentially. Laws have been enacted in these regions, but due to extreme poverty, these grave robbings continue to grow each year.
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
or crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
to steal
Steal
Steal may refer to:* Theft, the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent* The gaining of a stolen base in baseball...
artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s or personal effects
Personal Effects
Personal Effects is a 2009 American drama film directed by David Hollander and starring Kathy Bates, Ashton Kutcher, and Michelle Pfeiffer. It is based on Rick Moody's story Mansion on the Hill . This movie was premiered in Iowa City, Iowa on December 12, 2008 as part of a fundraiser for Iowa Flood...
. Someone who engages in this act is a grave robber or tomb raider. A related act is body snatching, disinterring a grave
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
for the purpose of stealing a corpse rather than for stealing other objects.
Grave robbing has caused great difficulty to the study of archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. Countless precious grave sites and tombs have been robbed before scholars were able to examine them.
"Looting obliterates the memory of the ancient world and turns its highest artistic creations into decorations, adornments on a shelf, divorced from historical context and ultimately from all meaning."
In modern times, grave robbers are often lower-income individuals. Grave robbers sell their goods on the black market. Though some artifacts may make their way to museums or scholars, many end up in private collections instead.
China
ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
jade burial suit
Jade burial suit
A Jade burial suit is a ceremonial suit made of pieces of jade in which royal members in Han Dynasty China were buried.-Structure of a jade burial suit:...
s were believed to be myths for many years until two were discovered in 1968; it is now believed that most jade burial suits were long ago removed by grave robbers.
Classical antiquity
Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian tombs are one of the most common examples of tomb or crypt robbery. Most of the tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
were robbed within one hundred years of their sealing (including the tomb of the famous King Tutankhamen, which was raided at least twice before it was discovered in 1922). As most of the artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
in these ancient burial sites have been discovered, it is through the conditions of the tombs and presumed articles that are missing in which historians and archaeologists are able to determine whether the tomb has been robbed. Egyptian pharaohs often kept records of the precious items in their tombs, so an inventory check is presumed for archaeologists.
There are many examples of grave robbing in the Ancient World outside of Egypt. For instance, the Romans (Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
) also suffered decades of theft and destruction of tombs, crypts, and graves.
North America
Generally the most common act of grave robbing in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
has taken place with regards to Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
burial grounds and has been a continual process over the past 200 years. This grave robbing was prevalent during the 18th century due to the idea that Native Americans were not considered "people" and were more or less deemed to be "savage". Therefore, their property and burial grounds were not respected and the bodies and artifacts in these locations were often sold or looted.
Modern grave robbing in North America also involves long-abandoned or forgotten private Antebellum Period to pre-Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
era grave sites. These sites are often desecrated by grave robbers in search of old, hence valuable, jewelry. Affected sites are typically in rural, forested areas where once-prominent, wealthy landowners and their families were interred. The remote and often undocumented locations of defunct private cemeteries make them particularly susceptible to grave robbery. The practice may be encouraged by default upon the discovery of a previously unknown family cemetery by a new landowner.
Central America
"Tourists can visit the Gold Museum and the Jade Museum in San José, Costa RicaSan José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
. But they're meaningless scientifically, like a bank vault or a jewelry store. Every item in them comes from looting," said Michael J. Snarskis
Michael J. Snarskis
Michael Jay Snarskis was an archeologist from the United States who founded the scientific study of archaeology in Costa Rica...
. "Only the National Museum
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located in the capital of San José. It is located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras, in the Bellavista Fortress, a crenallated, ochre colored building opposite the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica...
has an active research program with didactic exhibitions based on its own scientific excavations."
Grave robbers often sold stolen Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
or Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
goods on the black market for an extremely high price. The buyers (museum curators, historians, etc.) did not often suffer the repercussions of being in possession of stolen goods and that the blame (and charges) are put upon the lower-class grave robbers. Today's antiquities trade
Antiquities trade
Antiquities trade is the exchange of antiquities and archaeological artifacts from around the world. This trade may be illicit or completely legal. The illicit antiquities trade involves non-scientific extraction that ignores the archaeological and anthropological context from which the artifacts...
has become a streamlining industry – and the speed these artifacts enter the market has grown exponentially. Laws have been enacted in these regions, but due to extreme poverty, these grave robbings continue to grow each year.