Authorities Stumble Upon Illegal Excavations in Akhmim

Three illegal excavation pits have been found at Akhmim archaeological site in Upper Egypt's Sohag. The diggers were long gone with their loot. The holes were up to seven metres deep.

Nevine El-Aref , 'Illegal excavations foiled (sic) in Sohag's Akhmim' Saturday 7 Jun 2014

 Monica Hana is quoted as saying ('Egypt ups efforts to protect cultural heritage', Deutsche Welle 7th June 2014) that

she's counted more than 200 sites that have been affected by looting. She works with a team of volunteers to document illegal excavations, and monitor sites using satellite images. They've seen grave robbery increase by about 300 percent in the past three years. "We estimate that between 100 and 150 objects have gone missing every day since 2011," Hanna says.

The implications of such an estimate are quite striking.  Since January 28th 2011 1224 days have passed, that would be between 12200 and 183000 objects which have entered the black market. Where would they all have gone? American dealers swear blind they've not seen them, but can one trust their statements?