The Elgin Marbles row between the UK and Greece explained

Standing alone in the corner of the British Museum in London is the caryatid – a statue of a female figure separated from five sisters for over 200 years.

She is a long way from home, having been taken from the Acropolis, in Athens – one of Greece's most important cultural landmarks – under the orders of Scottish diplomat Lord Elgin.

The separation of the six sisters of the Acropolis is just one example of Lord Elgin ordering the removal of a number of ancient stone sculptures, for a collection now known as the Elgin Marbles.

This has long been a source of contention between Britain and Greece, with Athens' efforts to secure the return of the sculptures looking as distant as ever as Sir Keir Starmer meets his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in London today.

There was no discussion of the marbles in their meeting, with Starmer saying he hoped to “build on our strong bilateral relationship and to talk about our common issues”, and Mitsotakis describing the UK as "integral in addressing the security challenges that we are facing, not just in Ukraine but also in southeastern Europe and the Middle East".

Starmer earlier said the UK government's position on the Elgin Marbles "has not changed" and that there are no plans to force their return to Greece, but the Guardian has reported ongoing talks about the future of the statues are now "well advanced".

Here, Yahoo News explains the history of the Elgin Marbles – also known as the Parthenon Marbles – and the ongoing dispute over who has a rightful claim to them.

When were the Elgin Marbles taken and why are they controversial?

The Elgin Marbles, a collection of sculptures removed from the Parthenon in Athens and other nearby ancient buildings were shipped to England under the command of Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord Elgin.

As the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during the early 1880s, Lord Elgin made the case that these artworks needed to be protected from the indifference towards them from Greece's then-occupying power.

He was granted permission by the Ottoman officials to take a number of treasures of his choosing, with Lord Elgin's agents removing around half of all surviving sculptures from the Parthenon, and others from surrounding temples.

A series of shipments to the UK took place between 1802 and 1812, with the collection remaining private until it was bought from Elgin by the Crown for £35,000 – around half of Elgin's costs – and transferred to the British Museum.

Lord Elgin received criticism when arranging the removal of the marbles, with British poet and peer Lord Byron accusing the diplomat of vandalism and dishonesty.

This is the view held by many Greeks today, who see the sculptures as an important part of their cultural identity, with prime minister Mitsotakis claiming keeping the artefacts apart is "like cutting the Mona Lisa in half".

Who really owns the Elgin Marbles?

To this day, however, the Greek government says the sculptures were taken illegally, during a period of foreign occupation, and has demanded the marbles back since Greece's independence from the Ottomans in 1835.

The Acropolis Museum in Athens, which currently holds the remaining Parthenon sculptures, has also called on Britain to return the rest of the collection.

Greece has rejected suggestions by British Museum chairman George Osborne of a series of loan deals, arguing this would mean acknowledging the London museum's ownership of the sculptures.

In January 2023, the Greek Ministry of Culture told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini it did not recognise the British Museum’s ownership of the sculpture, which it said were the “product of theft”.

The UK has argued that the British Museum is independent from the government, but that under the British Museum Act 1963, it is prevented from permanently disposing of most of the items from its collection.

In March 2023, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said: "The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country... We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it."

The long-standing row between Greece and Britain deepened in November last year when Sunak accused Mitsotakis of "grandstanding" over the issue. He cancelled a meeting with the Greek leader because it was "clear" the purpose of it "was not to discuss substantive issues for the future, but rather to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past".

At the time, Downing Street said it had agreed with talks on the condition Greece did not publicly lobby for the return of the sculpture, which Greek sources said was untrue, arguing this is never something to which Athens would agree.

This week a spokesman for Starmer said: “Our position on the Elgin Marbles has not changed. It remains a matter for the British Museum, and the Government has no plans to change the law to permit a permanent move of the Parthenon Sculptures.”

However, the Guardian reports that behind the scenes, talks concerning the sculptures are "well advanced", with sources telling the newspaper that talks between Osborne and the Greek foreign ministry are moving towards “an agreement in principle” to reunify the artefacts in Athens.

What do the public think?

The British public appear to be in support of returning the marbles to Athens, according to a poll last month by YouGov.

Of those surveyed, 53% said they thought Britain should return the sculptures to Greece, while 24% said they opposed a return and 23% said they didn't know.

Which other famous artefacts have the UK been urged to give back?

• The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone has been the subject of a lengthy repatriation campaign. Rediscovered in 1799 by the French military campaign in the Egyptian Delta, following Napoleon’s defeat by the British, the stone was shipped to England in 1802. It has been on display at the British Museum ever since.

The British Museum has maintained a steady resistance to the stone’s return to Egypt. But there is now increasing pressure to return it to Egypt as a gesture of goodwill, recognition of the stone as Egypt’s cultural property and a symbol of a country that is increasingly reclaiming its heritage.

Read the full story from The Conversation

• Sacred Mongolian scriptures

Mongolia is prepared to pay for the repatriation of artefacts worth billions of pounds after accusing China, Russia and the West of denying them their “rightful home”.

They include the “one and only” original portrait of Genghis Khan owned by Taiwan, ornate illustrations by the 13th century Persian-Mongol statesman Rashid al-Din held at the University of Edinburgh, and a 1911 declaration of independence currently residing in the British Library in London.

Officials are now eyeing up other items in Britain, including sacred scripture writings at the British Library and another collection of approximately 10,000 photographs.

Read the full story from The Telegraph

• The Maqdala collection

Crosses, religious texts and a shield were among the items of the Maqdala collection returned to Ethiopia in 2021. But more artefacts looted by British soldiers during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 remain in British museums.

Receiving the items, Ethiopia's ambassador to the UK ambassador, Teferi Melesse Desta said: "To honour the memory of Maqdala, I once again renew the calls made by countless Ethiopians before me for museums, collectors and holders of Maqdala heritage to return [these items].

"It is my hope that in the Maqdala returns to come, the relations between our two nations and people can deepen and grow from strength to strength."

Read the full story from Sky News

• The Gweagal Shield

In 2015 the British Museum loaned the Gweagal Shield and other artefacts to the National Museum of Australia for its controversial Encounters exhibition – but only after the federal Labor government legislated the Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan Act, rendering Aboriginal items loaned back to Australia legally immune from Indigenous claim.

British collecting institutions – especially the British Museum – are, however, rarely of a mind to return artefacts, ill-gotten during colonial rule, as the human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson recently pointed out. He criticised the British Museum over its continued intransigence on its troves of “stolen” colonial loot – not least the Elgin Marbles.

Read the full story from the Guardian

• The Kohinoor diamond

The Kohinoor, which means “Mountain of Light,” was originally about 186 carats, and while its exact origins are unknown, it was most likely discovered in South India in the 13th century.

Danielle Kinsey, an assistant professor of history with a focus on the history of 19th century Britain and empire at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, said its impressive size often shrouds its less appealing history.

“There are many, many other artifacts in Britain that continue to function as imperial trophies, and when people from around the world have to shell out the money and go through all of the visa and travel issues to go to Britain to engage with pieces of their own cultures and their own pasts, this continues the trauma of empire for them. I can very much understand their frustration,” Kinsey said.

Read the full story from Today