Details

This conference is dedicated to the subject of grave looting and robbing in the Graeco-Roman World. Bringing together archaeological, epigraphic, literary, and legal evidence, this conference will be the first time that the phenomenon of ancient tomb plundering, and its many historical contexts will be discussed from a perspective of longue durée (from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages, 2500 BC - AD 800). To this end, experts in various disciplines (ancient history, classical archaeology, classical philology, legal history, and related disciplines) will shed new light on the wide variety of potential motivations behind this habit (ranging from economic to ideological to cultural factors) and the possible actors responsible for the plundering of tombs in very different time periods. The aim of the conference is to clarify whether such transgressions occur more frequently in times of major socio-political instability. Furthermore, the conference aims to ensure that the phenomenon of tomb plundering is given greater attention in future classical studies and related disciplines.