"Video-game maker Eidos will soon release the 10th-anniversary edition of its classic game Tomb Raider, starring nerd temptress Lara Croft. Tomb raiders work in real life, too: Last October, they led archaeologists to a site in Egypt that is still yielding discoveries. How do real-life tomb raiders operate?
Secretly, illegally, and all over the world. 'Tomb raider' is really just a glamorous way of describing an unlicensed archaeologist. Anyone who wants to dig in Egypt must first go through the arduous process of getting official permission. The authorities demand an explicit description of any project, proof that the diggers are with a university or museum, and a list of everyone who will be working on the site. The license request goes to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, a government agency that oversees all excavation projects. If you try to dig without the council's permission, you're breaking the law—so "tomb raiders" might be opportunists looking to sell their findings, or they might be serious excavators who simply can't get permission for a dig.
The guys who are just trying to pawn off their artifacts on the black market sometimes don't even bother with the digging. It's often easier to raid established excavations for valuable artifacts."
Secretly, illegally, and all over the world. 'Tomb raider' is really just a glamorous way of describing an unlicensed archaeologist. Anyone who wants to dig in Egypt must first go through the arduous process of getting official permission. The authorities demand an explicit description of any project, proof that the diggers are with a university or museum, and a list of everyone who will be working on the site. The license request goes to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, a government agency that oversees all excavation projects. If you try to dig without the council's permission, you're breaking the law—so "tomb raiders" might be opportunists looking to sell their findings, or they might be serious excavators who simply can't get permission for a dig.
The guys who are just trying to pawn off their artifacts on the black market sometimes don't even bother with the digging. It's often easier to raid established excavations for valuable artifacts."
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