Archeology / Grave robbing

[keithlbw]

Where does archeology stop and grave robbing / desecration begin.
Is there a time limit on when graves can or cannot be opened and bones examined?

[dot.hawkes]

I think Industrial archaeology is very interesting and we can recover some important detail of how our modern age shot from horse drawn to steam. Earlier civilisations with very little written contemporary records are fair game for professional archaologists as they can discover amazing facts about those early civilisations that formes a huge part of our educational background. I have no problem with pre 1537 excavations in any churchyard or consecrated ground, but from a historians point of view anything after this date is alreayd recorded. it is the middle ages that is so fascinating, they were by our standards modern, but so comprehensively unrecorded if they were just ordinary people.

[jiggy-gb]

That's a great question keithlbw, I only wish I knew the answer! I hope someone on here does, I'm intrigued now. Maybe post it on History and Myths too?

[jno]

probably when anyone feels directly affected. The average skeleton from 1066 could be safely dug up, but if it was demonstrably that of the first Earl of Pinner, his descendant, the 30th Earl, would probably feel outraged.