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. A tomb is a small building (or vault) for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. ... Crypt is also a commonly used name of water trumpets, aquatic plants. ... The term steal can mean either: To commit theft In baseball, to gain a stolen base In basketball, stealing the ball from the opponents team This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... I archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. ... With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual, and contrasts with soul, personality and behavior. ...

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. Art history usually refers to the history of the visual arts. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... This article refers to the historical Pharaoh. ... Nebkheperure Lord of the forms of Re Nomen Tutankhaten Living Image of the Aten Tutankhamun Hekaiunushema Living Image of Amun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis Horus name Kanakht Tutmesut The strong bull, pleasing of birth Nebty name Neferhepusegerehtawy One of perfect laws, who pacifies the two lands[1] Wer-Ah-Amun... A jade burial suit (Chinese: 金縷玉衣; pinyin: ; literally gold-threaded jade suit) is a ceremonial suit made of pieces of jade in which some nobles in Han Dynasty China were buried. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

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. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect and poet. ... For other uses, see Renaissance (disambiguation). ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... Human anatomy or anthropotomy is a special field within anatomy. ... Body-snatching was the secret disinterring of dead bodies in churchyards to sell them for dissection or anatomy lectures in medical schools. ... Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath: architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, mathematician, musician, and painter. ...

See also

• Anatomy Act of 1832
• resurrectionists
• William Burke and William Hare
• Dr. Thomas Sewall