Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war , natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting . The proceeds of all these activities can be described as booty , loot , plunder , spoils , or pillage.
31-533: Nico Ditch is a six-mile (9.7 km) long linear earthwork between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford in Greater Manchester, England. It was dug as a defensive fortification, or possibly a boundary marker, between the 5th and 11th century. The ditch is still visible in short sections, such as a 330-yard (300 m) stretch in Denton Golf Course. For the parts which survived, the ditch
62-416: A country or during peacetime. Riots in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests in numerous American cities led to increased amounts of looting, as looters took advantage of the delicate political situation and civil unrest surrounding the riots themselves. Up to 175 Target stores closed Nationwide during the disturbances. During the ongoing Kashmir conflict , looting of Kashmiris trapped between
93-460: A good example being during the 1967 First Invasion of Onitsha , where the victorious Nigerian troops were encircled and annihilated while looting. In other cases, for example, the Wahhabi sack of Karbala in 1801 or 1802, loot has contributed to further victories for an army. Not all looters in wartime are conquerors; the looting of Vistula Land by the retreating Imperial Russian Army in 1915
124-517: A significant increase in the looting of antiquities from archaeological sites in Egypt, as the government lost the ability to protect the sites. Other acts of modern looting, such as the looting and destruction of artifacts from the National Museum of Iraq by Islamic State militants, can be used as an easy way to express contempt for the concept of rules of war altogether. In the case of
155-467: A sudden change in a country or region's government, it can be difficult to determine what constitutes looting as opposed to a new government taking custody of the property in question. This can be especially difficult if the new government is only partially recognized at the time the property is moved, as was the case during the 2021 Taliban offensive , during which a number of artifacts and a large amount of property of former government officials who had fled
186-528: Is 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. Part of the earthwork is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument . The earliest documented reference to the ditch is in a charter detailing the granting of land in Audenshaw to the monks of the Kersal Cell . In the document, dating from 1190 to 1212, the ditch is referred to as "Mykelldiche", and a magnum fossatum , which
217-550: Is Latin for "large ditch". The name Nico (sometimes Nikker) for the ditch became established in the 19th and 20th century. It may have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon Hnickar , a water spirit who seized and drowned unwary travellers, but the modern name is most likely a corruption of the name Mykelldiche and its variations; this is because the Anglo-Saxon word micel means "big" or "great", harking back to
248-498: Is either the result of direct orders, despite to Russia's claims to the contrary, or due to Russian soldiers not being issued with adequate food and other resources by their commanders. The term "looting" is also sometimes used to refer to antiquities being removed from countries by unauthorized people, either domestic people breaking the law seeking monetary gain or foreign nations, which are usually more interested in prestige or previously, "scientific discovery". An example might be
279-472: Is prohibited by international law , and constitutes a war crime . During a disaster, police and military forces are sometimes unable to prevent looting when they are overwhelmed by humanitarian or combat concerns, or they cannot be summoned because of damaged communications infrastructure. Especially during natural disasters, many civilians may find themselves forced to take what does not belong to them in order to survive. How to respond to that and where
310-636: The Gulf War , Saddam Hussein 's soldiers caused significant damage to both Kuwaiti and Saudi infrastructure. They also stole from private companies and homes. In April 2003, looters broke into the National Museum of Iraq, and thousands of artefacts remain missing. Syrian conservation sites and museums were looted during the Syrian Civil War , with items being sold on the international black market . Reports from 2012 suggested that
341-604: The Indian and Pakistani militarized zones is common and widespread. In 2022, international observers accused Russia of engaging in large scale looting during the Russo-Ukrainian War , reporting the widespread looting of everything from food to industrial equipment. Despite the publication of numerous photos and videos by Ukrainian journalists and civilians, numerous Russian commanders have denied these claims. International observers have theorized that this looting
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#1732779973783372-625: The early medieval period, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex struggled for control over North West England , along with the Britons and the Danes . Whatever its earlier use, the ditch has been used as a boundary since at least the Middle Ages . Legend has it Nico Ditch was completed in a single night by the inhabitants of Manchester, as a protection against Viking invaders in 869–870; Manchester may have been sacked by
403-774: The early modern period and reaching its peak in the New Imperialism era, European colonial powers frequently looted areas they captured during military campaigns against non-European states. In the 1930s, and even more so during the Second World War , Nazi Germany engaged in large-scale and organized looting of art and property , particularly in Nazi-occupied Poland . Looting, combined with poor military discipline , has occasionally been an army's downfall since troops who have dispersed to ransack an area may become vulnerable to counter-attack,
434-525: The end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century and the Norman conquest in 1066. Its original purpose is unclear, but it may have been used as a defensive fortification or as an administrative boundary. It possibly marked a 7th-century boundary for the expansionist Anglo-Saxons , or it may have been a late 8th or early 9th century boundary marker between the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria . In
465-463: The Danes in 870. It was said that each man had an allocated area to construct, and was required to dig his section of the ditch and build a bank equal to his own height. According to 19th century folklore, the ditch was the site of a battle between Saxons and Danes. The battle was supposed to have given the nearby towns of Gorton and Reddish their names, from "Gore Town" and "Red-Ditch", respectively, but
496-545: The antiquities were being traded for weapons by the various combatants. Both customary international law and international treaties prohibit pillage in armed conflict . The Lieber Code , the Brussels Declaration (1874), and the Oxford Manual have recognized the prohibition against pillage. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 ( modified in 1954 ) obliges military forces not only to avoid
527-530: The boundaries between the boroughs of Stockport and Manchester , and between Tameside and Manchester; it reaches as far as the Denton golf course. A section is now beneath the Audenshaw Reservoirs , which were built towards the end of the 19th century. The ditch may have extended west beyond Stretford, to Urmston ( grid reference SJ78299504 ). The earthwork was constructed some time between
558-513: The celebration of victory. In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars and particularly after World War II , norms against wartime plunder became widely accepted. In the upper ranks, the proud exhibition of the loot plundered formed an integral part of the typical Roman triumph , and Genghis Khan was not unusual in proclaiming that the greatest happiness was "to vanquish your enemies... to rob them of their wealth". In ancient times, looting
589-513: The country fell into the hands of the Taliban before they were recognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan by other countries. Further looting and burning of civilian homes and villages has been defended by the Taliban as within their right as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Looting can also be common in cases where civil unrest is contained largely within the borders of
620-474: The defeated populations, which were often enslaved . Women and children might become absorbed into the victorious country's population, as concubines , eunuchs and slaves. In other pre-modern societies, objects made of precious metals were the preferred target of war looting, largely because of their ease of portability. In many cases, looting offered an opportunity to obtain treasures and works of art that otherwise would not have been obtainable. Beginning in
651-730: The destruction of enemy property but also to provide for its protection. Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that in international warfare, "pillaging a town or place, even when taken by assault", is a war crime . In the aftermath of World War II , a number of war criminals were prosecuted for pillage. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (1993–2017) brought several prosecutions for pillage. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits
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#1732779973783682-755: The early 13th century description of the ditch as magnum fossatum . An alternative derivation of Nico comes from nǽcan , an Anglo-Saxon verb meaning "kill". Nico Ditch stretches 6 mi (9.7 km) between Ashton Moss ( grid reference SJ909980 ) in Ashton-under-Lyne and Hough Moss ( grid reference SJ82819491 ), which is just east of Stretford . It passes through Denton , Reddish , Gorton , Levenshulme , Burnage , Rusholme , Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield , Withington and Chorlton-cum-Hardy , crossing four metropolitan boroughs of present-day Greater Manchester . The ditch coincides with
713-548: The idea has been dismissed by historians as a "popular fancy". The names derive from "dirty farmstead" and "reedy ditch" respectively. Antiquarians and historians have been interested in the ditch since the 19th century, but much of its course has been built over. Between 1990 and 1997, the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit excavated sections of the ditch in Denton, Reddish, Levenshulme, and Platt Fields, in an attempt to determine its age and purpose. Although no date
744-476: The line between unnecessary "looting" and necessary " scavenging " lies are often dilemmas for governments. In other cases, looting may be tolerated or even encouraged by governments for political or other reasons, including religious, social or economic ones. Looting by a victorious army during war has been a common practice throughout recorded history. Foot soldiers viewed plunder as a way to supplement an often-meagre income and transferred wealth became part of
775-564: The looting of civilian property during wartime. Theoretically, to prevent such looting, unclaimed property is moved to the custody of the Custodian of Enemy Property , to be handled until returned to its owners. Despite international prohibitions against the practice of looting, the ease with which it can be done means that it remains relatively common, particularly during outbreaks of civil unrest during which rules of war may not yet apply. The 2011 Egyptian Revolution , for example, caused
806-654: The removal of the contents of Egyptian tombs that were transported to museums across the West . As part of World War II reparations , Soviet forces systematically plundered the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, including the Recovered Territories , which later transferred to Poland. The Soviets sent valuable industrial equipment, infrastructure and whole factories to the Soviet Union. Many factories in
837-591: Was among the factors sapping the loyalty of Poles to Russia . Local civilians can also take advantage of a breakdown of order to loot public and private property, as took place at the Iraq Museum in the course of the Iraq War in 2003. Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy 's novel War and Peace describes widespread looting by Moscow 's citizens before Napoleon 's troops entered the city in 1812, along with looting by French troops elsewhere. In 1990 and 1991, during
868-454: Was established for the ditch's construction, the investigations revealed that the bank to the north of the ditch is of 20th century origin. Together with the ditch's profile, which is U-shaped rather than the V-shape typically used in military ditches and defenses, this suggests that the purpose of the earthwork was to mark a territorial boundary. The conclusion of the project was that the ditch
899-479: Was probably a boundary marker. Despite heavy weathering, the ditch is still visible in short sections, which can be up to 4–5 yards (3.7–4.6 m) wide and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. A 330-yard (300 m) stretch through Denton Golf Course, and a section running through Platt Fields Park , are considered the best preserved remains. In 1997, a 150-yard (140 m) segment of the ditch in Platt Fields
930-570: Was protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument . The rest of the ditch remains unprotected. Earthworks (archaeology) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 222628018 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:46:13 GMT Looting During modern-day armed conflicts , looting
961-566: Was sometimes prohibited due to religious concerns. For example, King Clovis I of the Franks, forbade his soldiers to loot when they campaigned near St Martin 's shrine in Tours, for fear of offending the saint. Moses, Joshua and Samuel at various points ordered the Israelites not to take loot from their enemies due to God's commandment. In warfare in ancient times, the spoils of war included