When does grave robbing become archeology?
The moment the descendents’ curiousity is greater than their apathy or grief.
That is my question also - I don’t like the idea of disturbing this man’s mortal remains just to satisfy some useless intellectual curiosity.
Just like so many other things these days, as soon as you can secure a big fat government grant to do it.
Did they know they would find someone buried there?
Granted the article says: in the early 1900s, people found a tomb slab engraved with knightly symbols in the church. Given that Yeardley was a knight, it's possible this limestone slab belonged to him, Hartley said.
But was that slab still in place or had it been removed decades ago?
When there’s no immediate next of kin to sue. Or immediately when the dead guy’s not from a protected class.