This book examines the problem of the illicit traffic in looted antiquities. One component analyses the current legal structure governing the international movement of looted antiquities. This, it is concluded, is not the most effective method available to control the problem. Flaws in the current system of laws are examined, both in terms of their ex facie loopholes, and in terms of their broader lack of 'fit' with the market they seek to govern.
The second part of the book uses qualitative interview and observational data gathered from meetings with key market figures, and site visits, to construct a scheme for understanding how buyers in the antiquities market make their purchasing choices. This scheme is used to recommend a regulatory structure which would better control the market. The two parts of the study - the legla analysis and the interview data - are woven together throughout, so as to answer most effectively the questions 'what is wrong with the antiquities market?' and 'what can we do about it?'