Elgin Marbles

[Workingman]

The Greeks are up in arms that the British Museum is to loan some exhibits to St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum, Russia. They say it is "an affront" to their culture and invalidates the British Museum's claims that they are in no state to be moved.

Putting aside the controversy over how they were obtained, and also the claims that they have been held in safe keeping in the BM, isn't it time to return them "home"?

We have the technology available to make perfect replicas of the pieces in all but the actual stone. With today's 3D and CAT scanning and printing every flaw, blemish and scratch could be reproduced perfectly. It would be a brilliant project to undertake, possibly opening up new science. Both the British and Greeks would benefit, and it would make us World leaders in such technology. It could also lead to other artefacts in museums around the globe being returned to their rightful owners yet still being able to be seen in their current settings.

[Kaz]

Yes, they should definitely be returned....

[Aggers]

I'm not sending my marbles back -- they're mine.

[cromwell]

Putting aside the controversy over how they were obtained, and also the claims that they have been held in safe keeping in the BM, isn't it time to return them "home"?

Yes, it's well past time that the Greeks were given the marbles back.
I think that a lot of why the British Museum want to hold onto them is due to ego. "We will be a lesser museum without the Elgin marbles". Well tough, hand 'em back!

Lol at Aggers!

[TheOstrich]

I'm more concerned about the morality of loaning anything to Putin's Russia. The way I see it, at this point in time that's "giving succour to the enemy", and the British Museum needs to be censured for it.

[Kaz]

Ossie there is that too - very reprehensible at this moment in time

[Suff]

Whilst sending the marbles to Russia smack of the maturity of someone sticking their thumb on their nose, waggling their fingers and humming nernernernerner, I have to say that if everyone was to give back what was "liberated" from everywhere in the world; there would be quite a few blank areas we know very well. Egypt was pretty well "liberated", before they put a stop to it, by many nations.

If you start all of this now, where will it end? Not only that, but several of the governments around the world lack rather a lot of legitimacy. Then you get the likes of the Falklands. Over which Argentina have the smallest and most tenuous claims to only one of the islands.....

Personally I'd rather they just got over it. But, as you know, making nationalistic claims at times of horrific economy and austerity is a national pastime for many countries.......

It will pass.