defilers of tombs, shrines, temples, etc. abound in the world of fantasy, horror, and Dungeons & Dragons and so forth.

one assumes this is from the sense of defile, to make unclean or unfit for ceremonial use; desecrate. it probably hearkens to the defilers of the Temple; or maybe better, the defilers of the Tombs of the Pharaohs.

-joe (the mummy's curse) friday