Its objective is to achieve excellence in the protection of cultural property and objects against threats of human origin, contributing to the identification, traceability and investigation of the provenance of cultural property, as well as to the safeguarding and surveillance of sites of heritage interest.

The main threats to cultural property are armed conflicts, natural disasters and human actions.

Looting, illicit trade, smuggling, clandestine excavations and other activities have resulted in many objects ending up in the possession of private individuals, at auctions, on black markets and sometimes even simply being sold as mere trinkets at flea markets due to the impossibility of knowing their real value and provenance.