Stealing History : Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, and the Looting of the Ancient World

by Atwood, Roger

• ISBN13: 9780312324063
• ISBN10: 0312324065
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-12-16
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Roger Atwood knows more about the market for ancient objects than almost anyone. He knows where priceless antiquities are buried, who is digging them up, and who is fencing and buying them. In this fascinating book, Atwood takes readers on a journey through Iraq, Peru, Hong Kong, and across America, showing how the worldwide antiquities trade is destroying what's left of the ancient sites before archaeologists can reach them, and thus erasing their historical significance. And it is getting worse. The discovery of the legendary Royal Tombs of Sipan in Peru started an epidemic. Grave robbers scouring the courntryside for tombs--and finding them. Atwood recounts the incredible story of the biggest piece of gold ever found in the Americas, a 2,000-year-old, three-pound masterpiece that cost one looter his life, sent two smugglers to jail, and wrecked lives from Panama to Pennsylvainia. Packed with true stories, this book not only reveals what has been found, but at what cost to both human life and history.

Author Biography

Roger Atwood is a regular contributor to ARTnews and Archaeology magazines, and his articles on culture and politics have appeared in The New Republic, Mother Jones, The Nation, The Miami Herald, and The Boston Globe. Atwood was a journalist for Reuters for over fifteen years, reporting from Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, and a senior editor at their Washington, D.C. bureau. He is currently a fellow at the Alicia Patterson Foundation.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Looters in the Temple	1	(18)
PART ONE
Looking for a Tomb	19	(14)
Twenty-Three Feet Down	33	(27)
The Excavators	60	(17)
Backflap	77	(9)
Gold Man	86	(23)
Lord of Sipan	109	(14)
The Dealer	123	(8)
PART TWO
The Actual Objects	131	(36)
The Smugglers	167	(9)
The Consul	176	(12)
The Golden Rattle	188	(22)
The Jaguar's Head	210	(19)
PART THREE
The Brigades	229	(12)
Recovering the Past	241	(9)
Coming Home	250	(13)
Epilogue	263	(8)
Acknowledgments	271	(4)
Notes	275	(36)
Glossary	311	(4)
Select Bibliography	315	(8)
Index	323