A wealth of cultural treasures have been looted, damaged, and even destroyed in Afghanistan.

“I think there is absolutely no site in this country which is unaffected,” Philippe Marquis, the director of a team of French government-funded archaeologists operating in Afghanistan, told AFP in a recent interview.

“The illegal trade in antiquities is very significant, and is related to all the illegal activities which are going on in Afghanistan,” he added.

Afghanistan’s position on the ancient Silk Road that linked east with west has left the country with a rich cultural heritage.

But decades of war have hampered efforts to conduct proper archaeological investigations, while a lack of regulation means that priceless treasures are being smuggled out of the country at an alarming rate.

The looting is often carried out by poor villagers who are paid by middlemen often based elsewhere in the region — a problem the French have gone some way to addressing by paying the looters to work on their digs instead.

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Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed the largest tomb yet found in the ancient Saqqara necropolis.

One of two tombs found, which were carved out of stone, consists of a vast chamber that branches off into many alcoves. One alcove contained skeletons and pottery, and led to another chamber with a seven-metre-deep (23-foot) well.

“This is the largest tomb in Saqarra,” Hawass told AFP. “It took me two hours to look round all of it.”

At the northern end of the tomb, Hawass said archaeologists found another alcove that contained mummified falcons — symbols of the sky god Horus — and well-preserved pottery.

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500 Viking-era silver artifacts have been stolen from an archaeological site on the Baltic island of Gotland.

Two archaeologists employed by Gotland county were dismayed to discover the valuables had vanished when they arrived at a field in Alva in Gotland to follow up on a recent find.

“It’s just as saddening every time it happens because it’s our heritage that disappears,” said Majvor Östergren at the Gotland County Administrative Board.

The methodical thieves dug some 250 holes in a bid to secure as much booty as possible. Östergren estimated that the impostors had made off with 500 silver pieces worth a combined total of 250,000 to 500,000 kronor ($35,000 to $70,000).

The waters surrounding the island of Dominica are littered with colonial wrecks and artifacts. Due to a lack of funds to officially recover historically important pieces, looters have been raiding the ocean floor.

The Archaeology advisor to the Cultural Patrimony Office said the underwater patrimony is being lost “from being stolen” while the country loses an opportunity for not contracting companies specialized in recovering the historically important pieces. “I feel that this subaqueous patrimony is being lost, it’s being diluted, they are stealing it.”

Borrel, speaking in the seminar “Convention on the Protection of the Subaqueous Cultural Patrimony” held in the Museum of Modern Art, said he can cite 20 sackings of ships whose pieces were removed to later sell and were even offered on the Web.

China is sending out teams of experts to other countries to find treasure looted from the Summer Palace.

The teams will be looking for precious items stolen from Beijing’s former Summer Palace nearly 150 years ago.

Chinese experts believe 1.5 million items could have been taken from the site, which was destroyed by British and French troops.

Over recent years, China has become increasingly active in its efforts to raise the issue of stolen treasures.