tomb robbery
Stealing from crypts
Tomb robbery is the looting of burial sites to steal valuables interred with the dead.
The practice is ancient—Egyptian pharaohs' tombs were plundered within generations of their sealing.
Modern tomb robbery feeds the black market for antiquities: Tomb robbery has stripped many archaeological sites of their historical context.
Also called grave robbing, though that term often implies stealing corpses rather than goods.
- graveSerious and worrying
- burial siteInterment location
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
- sarcophagusCarved stone burial container
- King TutTeenage Egyptian ruler, abbreviated
Valley of the Kings · artifacts · stolen artifacts · plunder · desecration · curse · booby trap · pharaoh · hidden chamber · excavation · looter · antiquities · crypt · treasure · smuggling · archaeology · vault · burial
- heritage crimesart theft, art fraud, art forgery, museum theft, museum heist
tomb robberyarchaeological excavation
Systematic unearthing of artifacts
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