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Contemporary Archaeological Looting: a Criminological Analysis of Italian Tomb Robbers

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Contemporary Archaeological Looting: a Criminological Analysis of Italian Tomb Robbers City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2018 Contemporary Archaeological Looting: A Criminological Analysis of Italian Tomb Robbers Marc Balcells Magrans The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2538 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] CONTEMPORARY ARCHAEOLOGICAL LOOTING: A CRIMINOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ITALIAN TOMB ROBBERS by MARC BALCELLS MAGRANS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2018 ©2018 MARC BALCELLS All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Criminal Justice in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dr. Jana Arsovska January 11, 2018 Chair of Examining Committee Dr. Deborah Koetzle January 11, 2018 Executive Officer Dr. Jana Arsovska Dr. Rosemary Barberet Dr. Roddrick Colvin Supervisory Committee iii THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Abstract CONTEMPORARY ARCHAEOLOGICAL LOOTING: A CRIMINOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ITALIAN TOMB ROBBERS by Marc Balcells Magrans Chair: Dr. Jana Arsovska Looters (in Italian, tombaroli), whether underground or underwater, have preyed on the Italian archaeology for centuries. The literature on both archaeological looting and, more specifically, the Italian case, has been widely developed by other disciplines, mostly archaeology. In spite of this body of literature, the number of studies discussing issues related to tombaroli is minimal, and the criminological contribution is nonexistent. After examining important gaps in the literature, this study explains the nature of the relationship between tombaroli and organized crime and how organized criminals learn and adapt during their careers. These topics have been both misrepresented and sporadically dealt with in the existing literature. Drawing on a multidisciplinary body of literature on Italian archaeological looting and interviews with looters, law enforcement officials, archeologists, prosecutors, journalists, criminologists, and authors, this study demonstrates that although Italian archaeological looting is a crime that is organized, it is not a problem of organized crime. In fact, its relationship to traditional Italian criminal organizations seems sporadic and anecdotal at best. Looting, an eminently group activity, is mostly perpetrated in teams, who perfectly fit the definition, albeit simply, of organizations. As such, tombaroli can learn as a whole group from the interactions among their members and adapt to the actions of law enforcement and other challenges. Through practice, tombaroli acquire and orally share a great deal of practical knowledge; this is different from the scientific knowledge of archaeologists. iv Tombaroli change their ways of committing their crimes and learn new modus operandi, such as changing their timing when offending, adapting their work to rural areas, changing how they store and transport looted antiquities, and adopting new technologies. This study includes an historical analysis of Italian archaeological looting across centuries. This research project might interest law enforcement agencies, policymakers, archaeologists, NGOs, civil society and scholars. Because it offers in-depth insights about tombaroli, one of the most important risks archaeologists have to face in order to protect their future discoveries, it is expected that this study and its recommendations might potentially have significance in several fields such as archaeology, criminology, and policing. v To my father; to my mother; to Toni vi We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance. John Archibald Wheeler vii PREFACE I do not know the number of researchers that can pinpoint the moment their interest in researching a topic began. I do know, however, that my story begins with a journal article I was reading on a sunny July afternoon in Umbria, Italy while I was completing a certificate program in cultural heritage. In the article, Proulx (2011a) states: Additionally, since the activity of looters and traffickers is necessarily furtive, such actors make difficult subjects to reach for interview about the social organization of their criminal endeavors. To date, few if any criminologists have been able to penetrate the underlying social dynamics of the illicit antiquities trade, making the collection of microlevel, contextual information on looting a challenge (p. 2). From that day on, I fell in love with the understudied topic of Italy’s tombaroli, and I set my goals deciphering, through criminology, as much as I could. Tombarolo (or in plural, tombaroli) is the Italian term that designates archaeological looters, which derives from the Italian word tomba, meaning tomb. It refers primarily to tomb robbers operating in Italy, although the term clandestine, translated as illegals, has also been used to describe them (Thomas, 2012). I arrived without any knowledge to the field of cultural heritage crime through combining my degrees in law, criminology, and human sciences with my love for the classical world, its history and its art. That first summer in Italy I was able to roam its fields and archaeological sites and see firsthand the problems illicit diggings pose for archeologists. Since that summer of 2011, I have visited the country every summer and established a base of relationships with many people who are passionate about preserving Italy’s cultural heritage. viii Even as I write these lines today, I remain surprised by the amount of emails, calls, and connections needed to locate and speak with a tombarolo. Indeed, as readers will see in the introduction to this dissertation, researching populations align themselves on the supply side of the spectrum, such as drug producers or tombaroli, , can be daunting. But knowledge about tombaroli is badly needed: Italy is, in the words of one of my interviewees, the land of the gratta e vince, the “scratch and win,” because buried under each layer of soil is an uncountable cultural heritage just waiting to be found. In fact, as I managed to observe during fieldwork, pieces were not as deeply buried, as many would imagine. Tombaroli know it, and that is exactly their raison d’être. Just read the following case, which illustrates precisely how tomb raiders have been pivotal co-conspirators in selling Italy’s past. In 1980 in Arpi, in the region of Puglia, which forms the heel of the Italian peninsula, tomb raiders found a tomb later nicknamed by archaeologists the tomb of the Medusa. The tombaroli, using a bulldozer, found the frontal part of the tomb, which remained unearthed, and stole most of the valuables. They stole all the significant pieces that they found in this exceptional, third-century-BC tomb. It was so thoroughly emptied that the organization in charge of cataloguing it, the Italian ministry for cultural heritage, only found fragments which lacked archaeological relevance. Furthermore, although the organ in charge of the site decided in 1989 to build a protective structure around the tomb, tombaroli have broken into the precinct many times, damaging the archaeological remnants (Graeppler & Mazzei, 1996; Pastore, 2001) with brute force or imagination. They even managed to excavate a tunnel from a neighboring vineyard straight to the tomb. The most important pieces from this site were not found by archaeologists, but by police officers in the trunk of a car. The case of the tomb of the Medusa is illustrative of the phenomenon of archaeological looting. ix FIGURE 1. An illegal excavation perpetrated by tombaroli at the necropolis of Cerveteri. Source: the author (2017) This research project is another step towards achieving a body of empirical knowledge in the field of cultural heritage crimes, and more specifically, on the broader topic of antiquities looting. As such, this doctoral dissertation uses a criminological approach to demystify the tombaroli by accurately depicting them and analyzing their specific role in looting Italy’s archaeological heritage. This is different from the media’s tendency to romanticize the tomb raiders. I only hope the project helps bringing some light to such an obscure field and contributes to bridging the gap between fact and fiction. I am proud that I have been able to reach out to tombaroli and ask them about their criminal activities with the intention of analyzing their responses and obtaining scholarly knowledge from them devoid of the sensationalism that often impregnates the discourse of tombaroli in the media. Over the years of working on this project, it has become clear to me x that although researchers and tombaroli devote our time to very different projects, we both “dig” to uncover something. Skilled, old tombaroli will tell you that they do it to save antiquities from the darkness of Earth’s hidden confines. My justification? To boldly go where no criminologist has gone before, hoping that at the same time that this helps preserve our ancient cultural heritage . That is why I consider this research project as a metaphor for an excavation. After a proper introduction, a literature review and a section on the methods used, we will also uncover some results to analyze as if we were raiders entering a tomb that has been long hidden, awaiting our visit. I only hope you enjoy this experience as much as I have. xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not be more thankful for what is probably the most memorable adventure I have ever been part of: quitting my job as a defense attorney, traveling to the USA, and embarking on a PhD which would eventually take me inside Etruscan tombs in the heart of Italy. During all these years I have surrounded myself with incredible human beings and institutions that have helped me, and this is my tiny tribute to all of them.
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