Was This Real-Life Indiana Jones a Savior or a Thief?

Marc Aurel Stein on one of his expeditions with guides and his dog, Dash (source)

The era around the turn of the twentieth century saw a remarkable age of archaeological discoveries. Americans and Europeans’ imaginations were excited by the images of intrepid scholars in exotic places discovering lost civilizations, and in many cases these archaeologists uncovered priceless treasures of the ancient past. But these discoveries, as valuable as they were, often went hand-in-hand…