From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Illicit antiquities are artefacts of archaeological interest, found in illegal or unregulated excavations, and traded covertly.

The global trade in illicit antiquities connects black-market activities in the countries of origin, by smuggling, to sales through international dealers and auction houses. Some estimates put its annual turnover in billions of US dollars. See American Council for Cultural Policy.

It is believed by many archaeologists and cultural heritage lawyers that the circulation, marketing and collectorship of ancient artifacts, the demand that it creates, cause the continous looting and destruction of archaeological sites around the world^[1]. Archaeological artifacts are internationally protected by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and their circulation is prohibited by the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property^[2]

1. ^ See e.g. Colin Renfrew, Loot, legitimacy and ownership: the ethical crisis in archaeology. London: Duckworth, 2000. Also more recently Neil Brodie and Colin Renfrew, "Looting and the world's archaeological heritage: the inadequate response" Annual Review of Anthropology 34 (2005) 43-61.
2. ^ UNESCO.

• Neil Brodie and Kathryn Walker Tubb (editors), Illicit Antiquities: The Theft of Culture and the Extinction of Archaeology, (Routledge, 2002) ISBN 0203165462
• Roger Attwood, Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, and the Looting of the Ancient World (St. Martins, 2004) ISBN 0312324065
• Michael Carrington: "Officers Gentlemen and Thieves: The Looting of Monasteries during the 1903/4 [[Francis Younghusband}Younghusband Mission]] to Tibet", Modern Asian Studies 37, 1 (2003), pp 81-109.
• Fabio Maniscalco, "Furti d'autore", (Massa, 2001).

• Illicit Antiquities Research Centre
• SAFE page