Loot, Legends and the Global Antiquities Trade of the 1970s

A 1972 purchase by New York’s Met of a celebrated 515 BC Euphronios vase raised allegations of illegal excavation. A BBC investigation traced the piece to Italian tomb robbers near Cerveteri, illustrating how the 1970s boom in looted antiquities spurred a global trade—robbers using simple tools and later more advanced gear to locate and smuggle artifacts to dealers, collectors and museums. Despite tighter laws and repatriations (including the vase returning to Italy in 2008), experts say the market for stolen antiquities persists and continues to erode our understanding of the past.