The Parthenon marbles case is the most famous international cultural heritage dispute concerning repatriation of looted antiquities, the Parthenon marbles in the British Museum’s ‘Elgin Collection’. The case has polarised observers ever since Elgin had the marbles hacked out of the ancient temple at the turn of the 19th century in Ottoman-occupied Athens. In 1816, a debt-stricken Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which subsequently entrusted them to the British Museum, where they have remained since then.Much ink has been spilled on the Parthenon marbles. The ethical and...
The Parthenon marbles case is the most famous international cultural heritage dispute concerning repatriation of looted antiquities, the Parthenon mar...