grave robbers
Tomb-plundering criminals
Grave robbers are people who dig up corpses or steal from burial sites.
Historically, grave robbers supplied cadavers to medical schools for dissection, or looted valuables buried with the dead.
The term extends to anyone who desecrates graves for profit: Archaeologists are sometimes accused of being glorified grave robbers.
Also called body snatchers or resurrection men.
Apex-topped geometric solids
- pharaohAncient Egyptian ruler
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
- sarcophagusCarved stone burial container
- EgyptNortheastern African nation
Valley of the Kings · Burke and Hare · resurrection men · body snatchers · Victorian · medical students · churchyards · catacombs
Those who profane sanctity
- lootersThose who steal during chaos
- plunderersThose who steal violently
- thievesThose who commit larceny
- vandalsWillful property destroyers
trespassers · felons · burglars · criminals · outlaws · ghouls · marauders · pillagers
Violation of the hallowed
- desecrationViolating something sacred
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- transgressionViolation of law or code
- infamyExtreme public disgrace
notorious · scandalous · nefarious · cursed · dishonor · violation · profane · forbidden
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- lootingTheft during disorder
- black marketIllicit trading system
- antiquitiesHistorical objects from ages past
provenance · repatriation · cultural heritage · illegal trade · smuggling · forgery · authentication · stratigraphy
pyramids
Apex-topped geometric solids
- pharaohAncient Egyptian ruler
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
- sarcophagusCarved stone burial container
Egypt · Valley of the Kings · Burke and Hare · resurrection men · body snatchers · Victorian · medical students · churchyards · catacombs · barrows
desecrators
Those who profane sanctity
- lootersThose who steal during chaos
- plunderersThose who steal violently
- thievesThose who commit larceny
vandals · trespassers · felons · burglars · criminals · outlaws · ghouls · marauders · pillagers · raiders
sacrilege
Violation of the hallowed
- desecrationViolating something sacred
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- transgressionViolation of law or code
infamy · notorious · scandalous · nefarious · cursed · dishonor · violation · profane · forbidden · condemned
excavation
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- lootingTheft during disorder
- black marketIllicit trading system
antiquities · provenance · repatriation · cultural heritage · illegal trade · smuggling · forgery · authentication · stratigraphy · context
ghoulish
Fascinated by death grotesquely
skeleton · crypt · tomb · necropolis · mausoleum · coffin · decomposition · decay · remains · burial
- raidersraiders, marauders, pillagers, plunderers, looters
- outcastsoutcast, pariah, pariahs, outcasts, outlaws
- seekersseekers, seeker, treasure hunters, searcher, fortune seekers
- Victorian supernaturalghosts, seance, spiritualism, mediums, haunted house
grave robbersmourners
Those lamenting a death
gravediggers · pallbearers · funeral directors · undertakers · morticians
grave, robber, graves, robbers, gravely, graveness, robs, robbed, robbing