ABSTRACT
This contribution argues that antiquities trafficking aiming to funnel illegally sourced antiquities into the legal market entails the laundering of the goods in question. Antiquities laundering begins in the aftermath of the looting, pillaging, or theft of antiquities from their original position, be it a museum or an archaeological site. To make these offences profitable, the antiquities must reach the official antiquities market. As the final marketplace normally does not coincide with the source location, illegally obtained antiquities must be smuggled into the market state. It is during this trafficking trail that these antiquities are passed onto various middlemen, across national borders. These transfers make them unrecognisable both with regard to their exact geographical origin and their illegal nature. Providing antiquities with a false provenance completes their laundering and paves the way to the market. Considering that antiquities laundering allows market demand to act as the driving force behind the unlawful taking and trafficking of antiquities, this chapter maintains that intervention on the market end is necessary for effective cultural heritage protection. Stricter regulation of the antiquities market must thus be welcomed as a tool to prevent antiquities laundering and to ensure the enforcement of applicable money laundering statutes.
