Grave robbing, grave
robbery or tomb raiding is the act of
uncovering a tomb
or crypt to steal the artifact (as illicit antiquities) inside or
disinterring a corpse to steal the body
itself or its personal effects. Someone who engages in this
act is a
grave robber or
tomb
raider.
Grave robbing is the bane of
art
historians and
archaeologists;
countless precious grave sites and tombs have been robbed before
scholars were able to examine them, resulting in the loss of
historical finds.
Similarly, Chinese
jade burial suits 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. In China, grave robbing has a very long history,
more than 2000 years ago. Many Warring States tombs, such as Chu
tombs in Hubei, were robbed in antiquity. The Mawangdui Tomb
Complex was partially robbed in the Tang Dynasty, when Tang pottery
and a robber tunnel were uncovered in the excavation of Tomb No.
3.
In
medieval and
renaissance Europe, students of medicine and of
art were reported to have stolen corpses from
morgues, private houses, and cemeteries to assist in
their study of
anatomy.
Michelangelo, the
Renaissance painter and
sculptor, was known for stealing bodies
from morgues in order to study
human
anatomy to perfect his artwork; however, this would more likely
be considered a case of
body
snatching than grave robbery . His rival
Leonardo da Vinci was also known for this
same practice .
Another type of grave robber, especially in Brazil and other South
American countries, is called "dentista da meia-noite" (midnight
dentistry), specialised in breaking into mausoleums to steal gold
teeth of the deceased. In early decades of the 20th century this
kind of crime was "epidemic" in these countries, as cemeteries
lacked security or even walls.
See also
References
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