Grave robbing, grave robbery or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a tomb or crypt to steal the artifacts (as illicit antiquities) inside or disinterring a corpse to steal the body itself or its personal effects. For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. In terms of European architecture a crypt (from the Latin crypta and the Greek κρυπτη, kryptē) is a stone chamber or In Archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological Illicit antiquities are Antiquities, or artifacts of Archaeological interest found in illegal or unregulated excavations and traded covertly A cadaver or corpse is a dead Body. "Cadaver" is normally used as a more formal term for a body being used in medical training or research 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. Art history is the Academic study of objects of Art in their Historical development and stylistic contexts i Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos 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. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National A Jade burial suit ( is a ceremonial suit made of pieces of Jade in which some nobles in Han Dynasty China were buried Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

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. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Anatomy (from the Greek anatomia, from ana separate apart from and temnein, to cut up cut open is a branch of Biology that is the consideration ^[1] 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. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime One of them by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Human anatomy, which with physiology and biochemistry is a complementary basic medical science is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the adult Human body Body-snatching was the secret disinterment of bodies from Churchyards to sell them for Dissection or Anatomy lectures in Medical schools His rival Leonardo da Vinci was also known for this same practice. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer

The heroine of the video game series "Tomb Raider (series)," Lara Croft, robs graves. Tomb Raider is a series of Action-adventure games comic books novels theme park rides and movies, centring around the adventures of the female Lara Croft is a Fictional character and the protagonist of Eidos Interactive 's Tomb Raider video game series

In recent years, large scale looting of corpses of killed German soldiers from WW2 has occurred on the former eastern front. The primary goal is to discover military equipments, that are then sold locally or internationally. One helmet or badge can be sold for the equivalent of several months salary, enough to corrupt the hearts of many locals.

Motives for grave robbery

• to obtain valuables such as jewelery, gold teeth, rings and watches.
• to supply the black market in body parts.
• to obtain items such as skulls and body fat for occult purposes.
• to engage in sexual intercourse with the body (Necrophilia)

See also

• Anatomy Act of 1832
• Nighthawking
• Resurrectionists
• Thomas Sewall
• The Night of Counting the Years

References

1. ^ Park, Katharine 1994 'The Criminal and the Saintly Body: Autopsy and Dissection in Renaissance Italy' in Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 1. (Spring, 1994) p.17