A child walks between looting pits dug at the ancient Egyptian site of Abusir el-Malek.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Egypt Heritage Taskforce

Looters of Egypt's antiquities are using social media to seek out professional Egyptologists, and others with knowledge of Egypt's past, to better loot archaeological sites and sell antiquities.

Looting of archaeological sites has increased rapidly in the country since the 2011 Egyptian revolution, sometimes resulting in the death of children who are forced to work in narrow tunnels.

In the past few weeks, five people have died while trying to dig tunnels beneath houses; one of those killed was an 11-year-old boy, Egyptian media reports say. [Reclaimed History: 9 Repatriated Egyptian Antiquities]