Tickets
Aerial photograph of a looted excavation site, Umma Tell Jokha, in Iraq (2003). The linear structures are the result of excavations of the Iraqi antiquities administration; the holes and trenches are the result of illegal excavation.
Aerial photograph of a looted excavation site, Umma Tell Jokha, in Iraq (2003). The linear structures are the result of excavations of the Iraqi antiquities administration; the holes and trenches are the result of illegal excavation. © Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale

The ILLICID national research project investigates the illegal trade in cultural artefacts in Germany

04.03.2015
Pergamonmuseum

The illegal trade in cultural artefacts in Germany is the focus of the newly launched research project ILLICID. This clandestine trade will be the object of investigation over the next three years. According to several international organisations, the illegal trade in cultural artfects is a substantial source of revenue for organized crime. 

Germany is currently both an important market and transit state for those involved. Authorities have so far been unable to develop effective strategies to fight this kind of crime, as they lack reliable figures on its scale. That should change once this project is completed. ILLICID is a joint collaboration between the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (SPK) together with the Fraunhofer-Institut für Sichere Informationstechnologie (SIT), Darmstadt, and the GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Mannheim.

News overview