Three shadowy figures scale down a cliff in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Equipped with spades and mallets, they set out in search of a tomb that in millennia to come, will be codenamed KV7.
The tomb of Ramesses II.
Three hours later and lathered in sweat and dirt, they stealthily slink out of the tomb carrying sacks filled with gold, jewelry, and precious gems belonging to the late pharaoh. They know that the contents of the sacks will keep them sufficiently wealthy for the rest of their lives.
These people are considered to be "tomb robbers".
In the year 1936, a man with a tan fedora, a leather jacket, and a bullwhip enters an ancient Peruvian temple littered with booby traps. At the end of the temple lies a solid gold idol. After carefully avoiding the traps, he scurries out of the temple with the idol in hand.
<Cue theme music>
Yep, its fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones. My idol. Coined, a "hero".
If you noticed, the differences between the first and second story is minimal. Both parties are entering structures that are built to keep strangers out, and both are protecting objects of extreme value. But what differs a tomb robber from an archaeologist?
To be honest, there technically isn't much. The major difference is that archaeologists are legally allowed to excavate, whereas tomb robbers are "stealing". Yet the moral difference is nominal, you say?
A tomb robber sells his acquisitions on the black market almost immediately, but an archaeologist sells his findings to a museum - yet both make money out of it. They both also break into tombs and remove valuables, but archaeologists claim that they "belong in a museum!" Kudos to anybody who understood that reference!
To me, there is only one difference. It isn't how much money is made or how legal the transaction is. It all boils down to the purpose of excavation and archaeology vs tomb robbery. Tomb robbers burgle tombs for the sole purpose of money. An archaeologist does it to proudly display the intricate history of a civilization, to show off the wealth and prosperity the nation had, and to study mankind as a whole. I, for instance, want to become an archaeologist due to my fiery passion for history. The very thought of pillared palaces, marbled roads, and elaborate temples gives me goosebumps. The notion that thousands of years ago, somebody crafted the very stone that I am holding in my hands. The idea that right now, I am in the presence of history, and that at the moment, I am a part of it -
Shivers down my spine.
Archaeology to me isn't about who's the rightful owner of what, or where this artifact really belongs - it's about uncovering things that have moulded and shaped the world it is today. I don't look at Ramesses's staff as a priceless artifact - instead, I view it as an object that contains locked, secret memories, lying there in cold decay.
So when I become an archaeologist, I know one thing for sure - I won't be driven by the riches and wealth I might find buried in the earth. It'll be the memories preserved down there that will push me. And I also know that because of this, my conscience will be clean.
