In fairness, I am using the most extreme example to make my case for "colonial theft": Ancient Mesopotamia was consigned to near total physical and cultural oblivion, with an uncaring government and a populace totally ignorant of its significance (apart from a few Bible stories).

To their credit, the Egyptian government and people came to appreciate the value of their ancient heritage—actual archaeological investigation, not just Biblical myths—much earlier, and went about regulating the field. Thus the Nefertiti Bust really was stolen (not "looted").