This talk will present the way research into the international antiquities market has developed regarding the trafficking of looted objects and examine whether the operation of the market itself has been affected by this development. I will focus first on the period from the late 1960s until the early 2000s.

Subsequently, a comparison will be made with the current situation and how the dealers, the auction houses, the museums and the private collectors are now operating, 10 years after knowledge regarding the true nature of the antiquities market started to become publicly available.

Finally, this talk will outline all the basic steps that should have been taken place decades ago, and the way further research and its potentially valuable outcome is obstructed.

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