Trafficking Culture
Trafficking Culture is a research consortium that produces evidence-based research into the contemporary global trade in looted cultural objects.
Our researchers, based at Maastricht University, Oxford University, University of Victoria at Wellington, and University of Glasgow, combine criminological and archaeological expertise. Our work is geographically diverse and interdisciplinary.
By conducting innovative quantitative and qualitative research we have established a body of reliable evidence that supports the formulation of effective cultural heritage protection policy. We are committed to raising awareness about these issues through social media, on-line education, and professional training.
NEW BOOK Available now (20% discount available for a limited time): Trafficking Culture: New Directions in Researching the Global Market in Illicit Antiquities
Recent News
Yates will participate in online summer school Cross Border Transfer of Cultural Objects: the Law, Challenges, and Practice
17 Aug 2021
Dr Donna Yates will give a lecture titled “The antiquities trade: Defining a grey market?” at...
Yates will participate in a roundtable discussion on Decolonisation at EAA 2021
17 Aug 2021
Dr Donna Yates will participate in roundtable Session #376. “Expanding Horizons: Decolonisation,...
Online conference “The Power of Things”, 6 May
15 Apr 2021
The European Research Council-funded “Trafficking Transformations” project is hosting...
Site Updates
Why There is Still an Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects and What We Can Do About It
Fifty years after the adoption of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, the illicit trade in cultural objects...
Protecting a Broken Window: Vandalism and Security at Rural Rock Art Sites
The majority of the ancient rock art sites of the U.S. Southwest are located in rural locations...
Investigating Antiquities Trafficking
The illicit trade in antiquities is a form of transnational crime that connects the theft at...