Jinns for Cultural Site Preservation

Salah Hussein A. Al-Houdalieh,'Physical hazards encountered by antiquities looters: A Case Study from the Palestinian National Territories', Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Volume 145, Number 4, December 2013 , pp. 320-333(14)

Abstract: Palestine's archaeological heritage is facing a serious crisis due to the prevalence of illicit digging. Antiquities looting is a widespread and flourishing phenomenon throughout the Palestinian National Territories (PNT) and has resulted in a large number of primary and secondary archaeological sites and features being damaged, disfigured, or completely destroyed, and in the extraction of at least hundreds of thousands of heritage items. The main aim of this research project is to explore the physical hazards encountered by the Palestinian antiquities looters. To this end I interviewed 53 antiquities looters residing in 41 different villages in the West Bank. The physical hazards which they encountered are classified by type as follows: cave-ins; the use of equipment, including heavy machinery (back-hoes, front-end loaders, bulldozers, etc.), other power implements, and traditional excavation tools; falling stones or tools; contact with insects, snakes, scorpions, and spiders; work during inclement weather; and attack by the jinn. '

Let us hope that the jinn manage to find time to attack those who buy the stuff looted as well. It'd probably do the illicit trade a bit of damage if collectors started returning jinn-infested objects.