63 Posts in Archaeology

In the podcast on Thursday, he said the British Museum has been exploring a deal “ whereby they spend part of their time in Athens and part of their time in London - and we have Greek treasures coming our way in return. And that is, I think, something worth exploring.” Although Osborne has made similar statements before, it is viewed as greatly significant that he repeated them in the wake of the "diplomatic tension" caused by Sunak with Greece. In fact, Osborne noted, “ To my mind as chair of the British Museum it is all the more reason to press on with our efforts to try and reach an agreement with the Greeks.” "In fact, if anything, things have been rather clarified by this week. We obviously know we’re not going to get any particular support from the Conservative government,” he added.

Diplomacy failed when U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly called off a London meeting scheduled for Tuesday with Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mitsotakis publicly voiced annoyance. Sunak’s spokesman linked the snub with the Greek leader’s using British television to renew his call, a day earlier, for the 2,500-year-old masterpieces’ return. Here’s a look at what the dispute’s about, and what could come next. Free-standing statues filled the triangular pediments that stood above the marble columns on the building’s short sides. Just below, sculpted panels stood at intervals along all four sides, while an unbroken strip of relief sculpture — the frieze — depicting a religious procession ran around the outer wall inside the colonnade. They were originally painted in bold colors that have since vanished. All survived mostly intact for more than 1,000 years, despite war, earthquakes, foreign invasions and the temple’s makeover first as a church and then a mosque. But in 1687, the Parthenon was blown up by a besieging Venetian army, and many of the works were lost. The survivors are now roughly split between the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum in Athens — with little fragments in a handful of other European museums. London holds 17 pedimental figures, 15 panels and 247 feet (75 meters) of the frieze. For decades, these were known as the Elgin Marbles, after the Scottish nobleman who started the trouble more than 200 years ago. Now even the British Museum goes by the preferred Greek form — Parthenon Sculptures. Besides, “marbles” lends itself to too many bad puns. WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT? Ancient Greek sculpture has been admired for millennia, serving as a key artistic point of reference. For many, Parthenon Sculptures are its most striking example. They form a coherent group designed and executed by top artists — the Leonardo da Vincis of the day —for a single building project meant to celebrate the height of Athenian glory. HOW DID THEY END UP IN LONDON? More than a century after the destructive explosion, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire — of which Athens was still an unwilling subject — Lord Elgin obtained a permit to remove some of the sculptures. They were shipped to Britain and eventually joined the British Museum’s collection in 1816 — five years before the uprising that created an independent Greece. WHAT’S THE GREEK CASE FOR RESTITUTION? Athens says the works were illegally removed and should join other surviving parts of the group in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum, at the foot of the ancient citadel. This, the Greek argument runs, will allow them to be seen against the backdrop of the Parthenon, from which all sculptures have been removed for protection from pollution and the elements. The Greek campaign was loudly championed in the 1980s by Melina Mercouri, an actress and singer then serving as culture minister. It waxed and waned since but was never dropped and has been enthusiastically taken up by Mitsotakis. In his BBC interview on Sunday that triggered the diplomatic dispute, Mitsotakis compared the current situation to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa being cut in half and split between two countries. WHAT’S THE BRITISH ARGUMENT FOR KEEPING THEM? The British Museum says the sculptures were acquired legally and form an integral part of its display of the world’s cultural history. It says it’s open to a loan request, but must be sure that in such an event it would get the works back. So Athens should first acknowledge the institution’s legal ownership of the works — which Mitsotakis has ruled out. Successive U.K. governments have insisted that the sculptures must stay put. WHAT HAPPENS NOW? The current spat notwithstanding, the British Museum’s chairman said earlier this year that he’s been in “constructive” talks with Greece on a compromise “win-win” deal. George Osborne said that he was “reasonably optimistic” about striking a deal, but cautioned that “it may well not come to anything.” And Greek officials insisted Tuesday that the talks would continue. Meanwhile, Athens is trying to round up as many of the small fragments in other European museums as it can. That would add pressure on the British Museum, while U.K. public opinion is seen as increasingly backing the Greek demand. Following an initiative by Pope Francis in January, the Vatican Museums sent back three smaller fragments of sculptures from the Parthenon that they had held for two centuries. A year earlier, a museum in Sicily returned its own small fragment.  

Mitsotakis, meanwhile, said the dispute had helped draw international attention to Greece’s longstanding claim to the artifacts, part of a 2,500-year-old frieze that was taken from Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin. The artifacts are on display in the British Museum. The 2 European allies with center-right governments have been at loggerheads since Monday, when Sunak called off a scheduled meeting with Mitsotakis hours before it was due to start. During the British prime minister’s weekly question period in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sunak said, “it was clear that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss substantive issues for the future, but rather to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past.” British officials were annoyed that Mitsotakis appeared on British television Sunday and compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in half. Sunak said Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to talk publicly about the marbles during his visit. “Specific assurances on that topic were made to this country and then were broken,” Sunak said. “When people make commitments, they should keep them.” Greece denied any such promise was made. The Greek government declined to comment further Wednesday. “In the spirit of the good longstanding relations between the 2 countries, which we intend to preserve, we have nothing more to add on this matter,” it said. Speaking before Sunak’s latest comments, Mitsotakis said he thought the spat “will not affect Greek-British relations in the long term.” “There was a positive side to the cancellation of this meeting, that it gained even more publicity … (for) the fair request of Greece for the reunification of the sculptures of the Parthenon,” he said in Athens. Critics questioned Sunak’s motivation for stirring up a fight with Greece. Since taking office 13 months ago, he has smoothed relations with the European Union and its member nations after years of acrimony over Brexit. Athens officials have pointed to the Conservative Party’s poor opinion poll ratings and Sunak’s long list of domestic woes, including a stagnant economy and an unmet promise to stop migrants reaching the U.K. across the English Channel in small boats. Opinion surveys suggest British voters do not care strongly about the marbles and have other priorities, such as the cost of living and the overstretched National Health Service. The leader of the U.K. opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, met with Mitsotakis in London on Monday. Starmer asked why Sunak was trying to “humiliate” the Greek leader. “I discussed with the Greek prime minister the economy, security, immigration,” Starmer said. “I also told him we wouldn’t change the law regarding the Marbles. It’s not that difficult, prime minister.”  

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting London and had been expected to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. He was due to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures from the British Museum. Late Monday Mitsotakis issued a statement to “express my annoyance at the fact that the British prime minister has cancelled our planned meeting a few hours before it was due to take place.” “Greece and Britain are linked by traditional bonds of friendship, and the scope of our bilateral relations is very broad,” Mitsotakis said. “Greece’s positions on the matter of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known. I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart, together with the current major international challenges: Gaza, Ukraine, climate change and immigration. Whoever believes that his positions are well-founded and just is never afraid of engaging in a debate.” “The U.K.-Greece relationship is hugely important,” Sunak’s office said in a statement that notably failed to mention the disputed sculptures. “From our work together in NATO, to tackling shared challenges like illegal migration, to joint efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine. “The deputy prime minister was available to meet with the Greek PM to discuss these important issues.” Athens has long demanded the return of sculptures that were removed from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. The sculptures, which originally adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than two centuries. About half the surviving marble works are in London, and the rest in a purpose-built museum under the Acropolis in Athens. Appearing on British television Sunday, Mitsotakis compared the separation of the sculptures to cutting the Mona Lisa in half — a remark that annoyed the British government. The British Museum is banned by law from giving the sculptures back to Greece, but its leaders have held talks with Greek officials about a compromise, such as a long-term loan. But Sunak’s spokesman took a tough line Monday, saying the U.K. government had “no plans to change our approach, and certainly we think that the (British) museum is the right place” for the marbles. “These were legally acquired at the time, they’re legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and there’s no plan to change the law which governs it,” said spokesman Max Blain. “We have cared for the marbles for generations and our position is we want that to continue.” Mitsotakis met Monday with U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose party leads Sunak’s governing Conservatives in opinion polls. After Sunak’s meeting with the Greek leader was called off Labour said: “If the prime minister isn’t able to meet with a European ally with whom Britain has important economic ties, this is further proof he isn’t able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires. “Keir Starmer’s Labour Party stands ready.” Greek officials said Tuesday that they will continue talks with the British Museum about bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly canceling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed. But the U.K. government said ownership of the marbles is “settled” — and they’re British. The 2 European allies traded barbs Tuesday in a deepening diplomatic row that erupted when Sunak called off a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hours before it was due to take place. Mitsotakis had planned to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures when he met Sunak at 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. The two center-right leaders were also slated to talk about migration, climate change and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. British officials were annoyed that Mitsotakis had appeared on British television Sunday and compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half. Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to talk publicly about the marbles during his three-day visit to Britain. “The Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures,” he said. “Given those assurances were not adhered to, the prime minister felt it would not be productive” to have the meeting. The Greek government denied Mitsotakis had agreed not to raise the subject in public. Mitsotakis met Monday in London with U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose party leads Sunak’s governing Conservatives in opinion polls. The prime minister’s office denied that meting had contributed to Sunak’s decision to cancel. Dimitris Tsiodras, head of the Greek prime minister’s press office, said Mitsotakis was angry at the “British misstep.” “Of course he was angry ... Look, Greece is a proud country. It has a long history. Mitsotakis represents that country,” Tsiodras told private network Mega television. Opposition parties in Greece, from the Greek Communist Party and centrists to far-right nationalists, also condemned Sunak for the cancellation. Left-wing opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis said the issue of the sculptures goes “beyond party differences.” “It is a national issue that concerns the history of an entire people. And it is a moral issue concerning the shameless theft of cultural wealth from its natural setting,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Athens has long demanded the return of sculptures that were removed from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Part of friezes that adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the Elgin Marbles – as they are known in Britain -- have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than two centuries. The remainder of the friezes are in a purpose-built museum in Athens. The British Museum is banned by law from giving the sculptures back to Greece, but its leaders have held talks with Greek officials about a compromise, such as a long-term loan. Earlier this year, museum chairman George Osborne — Treasury chief in a previous Conservative U.K. government — said the discussions had been “constructive.” Tsiodras said Tuesday that discussions “are ongoing with the British Museum for the return – I should say the reunification – of the marbles to Athens.” “I don’t think the effort stops there,” he said. “Clearly, there are domestic reasons and 2024 is an election year and (Sunak) is quite behind in the polls ... but the discussion with the British Museum is ongoing.” Sunak’s government appears to have hardened its position, however. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that “the government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum.” And Blain said that “a loan cannot happen without the Greeks accepting that the British Museum are the legal owners” of the antiquities.

Athens has long campaigned for the return of the Elgin Marbles, as they are often described. The 75 metres of Parthenon frieze, 15 metopes and 17 sculptures were removed by diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire then ruling Greece. "We have not made as much progress as I would like in the negotiations," Mitsotakis told BBC television on Sunday. "I'm a patient man, and we've waited for hundreds of years, and I will persist in these discussions. "We feel that the sculptures belong to Greece and that they were essentially stolen," Mitsotakis added before playing down the ownership aspect of the discussions and focusing instead on the importance of reuniting the sculptures with those in Athens. British officials say the works were acquired legally. Sunak in March ruled out any change to a law that stops the British Museum handing the marbles back to Greece permanently, but the legislation does not prohibit a loan. George Osborne, a former British finance minister who is chairman of the museum's trustees, this month expressed hope for a deal that would allow the sculptures "to be seen in Athens". Mitsotakis is due to meet Sunak on Tuesday, a day after a meeting Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, which is riding high in opinion polls ahead of an election expected in 2024. The Financial Times last week reported that Starmer would not block a "mutually acceptable" loan deal for the sculptures.

Archaeological and historical evidence confirms that the building dates back to the 2nd Century AD, a period in which the Roman emperor Hadrian took steps to expand the city to the east. The building underwent a second building phase in the 4th Century AD. Other finds include at least 21 inscriptions and sculptures (Athena, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Pan, satyrs and dancers), as well as an altarpiece from the mid-1st century AD dedicated to Apollo.

The headless statuette from the 2nd century found in the warehouses of the Athens Ephorate of Antiquities at Hadrian’s Library is rare not only because it was carved from black marble, but also because of the figure’s apparent posture of submission. “Sculptures like this are associated with the projection of the Roman emperor’s power over foreign peoples,” explains Dimitris Sourlas, an archaeologist at the agency. “Although small in size, it stands out in the sea of white Attic sculptures kept in warehouses because of the dark stone,” said Sourlas, who presented the headless statue on Friday at the Kanellopoulou Museum, during a scientific meeting on the history and topography of the northern slope of the Acropolis.

The museum, one of the most visited in the world, has been dealing with the aftermath of thefts which highlighted internal failings and led to the exit of its director. “We have taken steps to improve security and are now confident that a theft of this kind can never happen again,” the British Museum’s interim director, Mark Jones, said in a statement. “But we cannot and must not assume that the security of the collection, in a wider sense, can be achieved simply by locking everything away. It is my belief that the single most important response to the thefts is to increase access.”   The announcement came as the museum’s Chair George Osborne was being questioned by parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport committee on how the thefts had happened and what steps were being taken to make sure they could not happen again. The museum sacked a member of staff over the incident, which is also being investigated by London’s Metropolitan Police. The proposed digitization project would take 5 years, with 2.4 million records to upload or upgrade. Its collection totals at least 8 million objects according to the museum’s website

All they need is a smartphone. Visitors can now pinch and zoom their way around the ancient Greek site, with a digital overlay showing how it once looked. That includes a collection of marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon more than 200 years ago that are now on display at the British Museum in London. Greece has demanded they be returned. For now, an app supported by Greece’s Culture Ministry allows visitors to point their phones at the Parthenon temple, and the sculptures housed in London appear back on the monument as archaeologists believe they looked 2,500 years ago. Other, less widely known features also appear: Many of the sculptures on the Acropolis were painted in striking colors. A statue of goddess Athena in the main chamber of the Parthenon also stood over a shallow pool of water. “That’s really impressive ... the only time I’ve seen that kind of technology before is at the dentist,” Shriya Parsotam Chitnavis, a tourist from London, said after checking out the app on a hot afternoon at the hilltop Acropolis, Greece’s most popular archaeological site. “I didn’t know much about the (Acropolis), and I had to be convinced to come up here. Seeing this has made it more interesting — seeing it in color,” she said. “I’m more of a visual person, so this being interactive really helped me appreciate it.” The virtual restoration works anywhere and could spare some visitors the crowded uphill walk and long wait to see the iconic monuments up close. It might also help the country’s campaign to make Greek cities year-round destinations. Tourism, vital for the Greek economy, has roared back since the COVID-19 pandemic, even as wildfires chased visitors from the island of Rhodes and affected other areas this summer. The number of inbound visitors from January through July was up 21.9% to 16.2 million compared with a year ago, according to the Bank of Greece. Revenue was up just over 20%, to 10.3 billion euros ($10.8 billion). The app, called “Chronos” after the mythological king of the Titans and Greek word for “time,” uses augmented reality to place the ancient impression of the site onto the screen, matching the real-world view as you walk around. AR is reaching consumers after a long wait and is set to affect a huge range of professional and leisure activities. Medical surgery, military training and specialized machine repair as well as retail and live event experiences are all in the sights of big tech companies betting on a lucrative future in immersive services. Tech giant like Meta and Apple are pushing into VR headsets that can cost thousands of dollars. The high price tag will keep the cellphone as the main AR delivery platform to consumers for some time, said Maria Engberg, co-author of the book “Reality Media” on augmented and virtual reality. She says services for travelers will soon offer a better integrated experience, allowing for more sharing options on tours and overlaying archive photos and videos. “AR and VR have been lagging behind other kinds of things like games and movies that we’re consuming digitally,” said Engberg, an associate professor of computer science and media technology at Malmo University in Sweden. “I think we will see really interesting customer experiences in the next few years as more content from museums and archives becomes digitized,” she said. Greece’s Culture Ministry and national tourism authority are late but enthusiastic converts to technology. The popular video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which allows players to roam ancient Athens, was used to attract young travelers from China to Greece with a state-organized photo contest. Microsoft partnered with the Culture Ministry two years ago to launch an immersive digital tour at ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games in southern Greece. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the innovations would boost accessibility to Greece’s ancient monuments, supplementing the recent installation of ramps and anti-slip pathways. “Accessibility is extending to the digital space,” Mendoni said at a preview launch event for the Chronos app in May. “Real visitors and virtual visitors anywhere around the world can share historical knowledge.” Developed by Greek telecoms provider Cosmote, the free app’s designers say they hope to build on existing features that include an artificial intelligence-powered virtual guide, Clio. “As technologies and networks advance, with better bandwidth and lower latencies, mobile devices will be able to download even higher-quality content,” said Panayiotis Gabrielides, a senior official at the telecom company involved in the project. Virtual reconstructions using Chronos also cover three other monuments at the Acropolis, an adjacent Roman theater and parts of the Acropolis Museum built at the foot of the rock.  

SEA has appealed to the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, against the eviction order, which, according to the Culture Ministry, was prompted by the fact that it hosted an event in the garden of the historic Ermou Street building over the summer that was unrelated to its activities, hence violating the terms of the building’s concession. The event on the deadly migrant shipwreck off the coast of southwestern Greece on June 14 and was organized by an activist group. In a statement concerning the expiry of the deadline on Tuesday, SEA said it expects the ministry to await the court’s decision before making any moves to have the premises vacated. The ministry, meanwhile, claims that it was never informed of the appeal against the eviction order.                 In the meantime, if SEA is forcibly evicted, it will need to find not only a new headquarters to host its operations and guest quarters, but also a home for its valuable archive and library.    SEA says that it has supplied the ministry with a detailed report on its housing needs and is supposed to hold a meeting with the ministry’s political leadership on October 30.

Storm Daniel may have caused a meter of rain to fall on the hills of eastern Libya, an unprecedented amount since records began in the mid 19th century scientists say, and water was still flowing through the site when Reuters visited last week. The flooding caused mud and rubble to pile in Cyrene's Greek-era baths that will require specialised clearing said local antiquities department official Adel Boufjra. He warned that although the damage so far has been slight, the flooding may have added to subsidence that could later topple one of the monuments. "I'm pretty sure, and expecting, that one of these landmarks could collapse due to the excessive underground water during the winter," he said. While that risks great damage to the picturesque ruins at Cyrene, known locally as Shehat and a draw for travellers since the 18th century, the water has also washed clear a previously unknown Roman drainage system, Boufjra said. "The flooding has revealed a new site - a water canal that I believe dates back to the Roman era. It is a distinctive discovery for the city," he said. Scientists at the World Weather Attribution, an international research group, said climate change had caused up to 50% more rain during the storm than would previously have been the case - underscoring future risks to heritage. Cyrene was a Greek colony and one of the principle cities of the ancient Hellenic world before becoming a major centre under the Romans until an earthquake destroyed it in the year 365. One of Libya's five UNESCO World Heritage sites, along with the extensive Roman ruins overlooking the Mediterranean at Sabratha and Leptis Magna, Cyrene's stone pillared temples stand on a fertile hillside near rocky crags.  

The museum said last month it had sacked a staff member over stolen, missing or damaged items in a crisis that highlighted internal failings and led to its director quitting days later. Home to treasures such as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon marbles, the British Museum houses one of the world's most visited collections and has since tightened its security. Sixty items had now been returned, with a further 300 identified and due to be handed back imminently, the museum said in a statement. "If you are concerned that you may be, or have been, in possession of items from the British Museum, or if you have any other information that may help us, please contact us," said a page on its website advertising a dedicated email address. The page said it was only disclosing the types of artefacts stolen and heeding expert advice not to share full details. It said the stolen items included gold rings, ear-rings and other pieces of jewellery dating back to ancient Greek and Roman periods as well as small objects such as gems that were often set in rings. The museum, which is facing demands from several governments for the repatriation of historical treasures to their home countries, said it was working with London's police, "actively monitoring" the art market, and had registered the missing items on the Art Loss Register database. The museum is also consulting an international panel of experts.