What is Looting?

The Webster Dictionary states that looting is "to steal goods from (a place), typically during a war or riot." We're talking about looting in archaeology right now and how it harms not only our history in the past but the present as well. 

In November 2025, we met with a archaeologist, Rebecca Simon, and she told us that looting wasn't as big a problem as we were making it out to be. She told us that when people loot artifacts the artifacts don't sell for that much money anymore which is causing a decline in looting. We were intrigued by this and did a lot of research. What we found was shocking. When people loot artifacts and relics it is harmful for several reasons not only the loss of history and information, which we mention a lot. 

The loss of context is a big one, when people loot it can go back to a museum if lucky. If this happens the museum has almost no idea where the artifact came from. This is a big problem because this can lead to misinformation, but also sometimes archaeologist's meet with the people around a dig site so that they have context about the artifact. This artifact is their history, their lifeline.

Looting can end with...

• Destruction of sites

• Loss of cultural heritage

• Fuel illegal trade and crime

• Prevents public access and education

What are some Facts/Concepts of Looting?

Looting affects a wide variety of things. Archaeologists don't dig to find an artifact and store it in a glass case in a museum. They dig to discover our history, our culture. Finding an artifact is just a helping hand. 

When a looter decides to take something from a site, it doesn't just affect the artifact, it affects the people more. Everyone has grandparents. Everyone has great-great-great grandparents too. Imagine that a site has an artifact that connects to one of your grandparents. The archaeologists haven't dug it out yet, but in the dead of night, a looter comes and takes that piece of your family heritage. You'd never know. what that artifact meant. Because a looter took it. Maybe they didn't understand the importance of it, maybe they did. But that artifact may belong to someone who doesn't know where it came from, who doesn't know the importance of it to you and your family. By looting, you're hurting those people in the present.

Many looters don't believe themselves to be "looting." Looters tend to call themselves "business people," "collectors," or "antiquarians." They're trying to make a good life in a hard world. And it's not easy. Some sell these items on the black market to make money. Others collect, they put them in their house, to admire. These artifacts are beautiful, and worth a lot. Worth money, but mainly, information on history.

Think about it this way. If there was no market for these precious, history-rich artifacts, there'd be barely no point in stealing them. That is, unless you're a collecter. This is why we're educating you. Educating you to stand with us, protect these artifacts, and end looting now, and hopefully for good.