Last month I wrote about museums returning ancient artefacts to countries of origin and asked if the British Museum would return the Elgin Marbles to Greece? The Greeks are moving full speed towards building a museum to house the Marbles within sight of the Acropolis and in time for the Marbles to go on show during the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, the construction of this Acropolis Museum is attracting considerable criticism from Greeks themselves. Protesters argue that the location of the museum is on an ancient site worthy of its own protection and that the Greek government is breaking both its own laws as well as international laws designed to preserve ancient sites.
Although the main building is likely to be completed in time for Olympic athletes and visitors to view next August, whether the British Museum will return the Marbles is another question. They are standing firm and will probably refuse a request to give them back even on a loan basis. The idea of a loan is amusing though. Can you imagine the Greeks giving them back once the loan period expired?
Posted by Joe at August 19, 2003 12:48 PM