Book Talk: The Grave Robber with Tim Carpenter

Tim Carpenter—former head of the FBI's Art Crime Team and now Managing Director of Argus Cultural Property Consultants—joins Kiersten Neumann, ISAC Museum Curator, for a moderated conversation about The Grave Robber, followed by audience Q&A. After the talk, Carpenter will sign copies of his new book.

In The Grave Robber, Tim Carpenter recounts one of the most extraordinary and unsettling cases in the history of art theft. Over the course of five decades, a lone graverobber accumulated an illicit trove of over 42,000 artifacts—including nearly 500 ancestral remains—from cultures across the globe, including Native American, Chinese, Egyptian, Iraqi, and others, carefully looted from sacred burial sites and cultural heritage locations. Carpenter’s team, driven by an unwavering commitment to justice, embarks on a harrowing journey to track down this elusive criminal and uncover the full scope of the theft. What they find is nothing short of staggering: an illegal collection of immense historical and cultural significance, hidden away in a Midwestern home. The story of The Grave Robber is one of redemption and transformation: for the FBI, which redefined its approach to cultural crimes, and for the tribes and cultures who finally see justice done. This riveting account of a stolen past and the quest to make it right is a story of healing, responsibility, and the importance of preserving history for future generations.

Author Biography
Tim Carpenter is the former head of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, and is now Managing Director of Argus Cultural Property Consultants. Carpenter also led the Art Crime Team for nearly 6 years, and he was the first member of the team promoted from within to lead it. Carpenter started and led the FBI’s largest recovery of stolen and looted cultural property in the Bureau’s history during the landmark Don Miller case described in The Grave Robber. The case marked a turning point for how the FBI approaches sensitive cultural matters, particularly related to Native American tribes. For his efforts in the repatriation process of ancestral remains and historic objects, Carpenter received the Public Service Award from the Society for American Archeology. He is also the recipient of the FBI Director’s Award—the highest honor in the FBI.

* Registration is for both in-person and online; a link to stream the program online via Zoom will be circulated by email the day of the event. A recording will later be posted on ISAC's YouTube page.