Grave robbing

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Grave robbing or grave robbery is the act of uncovering a tomb or crypt to steal the artifacts inside or disinterring a corpse to steal the body itself or its personal effects. Someone who engages in this act is a grave robber.

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. The Egyptian pharoah Tutankhamun is famous because he is the only pharaoh whose tomb was discovered intact, grave robbers having already pillaged the tombs of other pharoahs. 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.

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. His rival Leonardo da Vinci was also known for this exact same practice.