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The world of museum professionals may just be witnessing another instalment of the dispute over the famous Parthenon marbles. The British Museum in London does not want to agree to the IDA (The Institute of Digital Archaeology) making 3D scans of the marbles exported from Greece in the 19th century by Lord Elgin (Thomas Bruce, 1766-1841).

How did the marbles from the Parthenon end up in the British Museum?

Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, had been British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire since 1799; the Empire included Greece with Athens. Thanks to his high position, he received two firmans (permits) from the Turkish government to excavate the site of the Athenian Acropolis. The work commissioned by the British diplomat caused a great deal of damage as the workers used crowbars, saws and explosives. As a result of the "excavations" Elgin managed to remove 56 panels from the frieze, 15 metopes and 17 figures from the tympanums. The sculptures have been in the British Museum since 1816, when Britain bought the monuments back from the lord.

The Greek side to this day considers Elgin's actions as theft. In 2018, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn declared that if he became the next British prime minister, he would send the Parthenon sculptures back to Greece. Current Prime Minister Boris Johnson, by contrast, has said that the marbles: "belong to England and will remain in London".

The idea of the Institute of Archaeology

The Institute of Archaeology, mentioned in the introduction to this text, is a joint venture between Oxford University and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, which aims to promote and use digital imaging techniques for archaeology, art history and conservation. The organization became famous for making a copy of the destroyed triumphal arch from Palmyra. It wanted to do the same with the famous marbles however, IDA's request to scan the marbles in 3D was rejected by email more than a month after it was submitted. The organization's executive director Roger Michel called the letter rejecting the request "bizarre". As the Institute suggests, apart from its educational value, a highly accurate reproduction could provide a potential solution to the long-running dispute over the marbles between the British Museum and Greece.

Added 2022-04-25 in by Alicja Graczyk
Koszyk