“Embracing Company Culture” — 2,000 Artifacts Were Reportedly Stolen From The British Museum, And People Are Suggesting It’s Karma
In what seems to be a real-life Indiana Jones storyline, artifacts have reportedly been stolen from the British Museum — allegedly by one of the museum's own employees.
According to BBC News and the Guardian, among the estimated 2,000 stolen items were gold coins, silver necklaces, gold jewelry, gems of semiprecious stones, as well as hundreds of pieces of pottery. An expert allegedly told the BBC that the sheer number of stolen objects was "mind-blowing."
Of the artifacts stolen, the newest date from the 19th century, while the oldest date back to the 15th century B.C. Yes, you read that correctly.
The theft was allegedly found out when a Freedom of Information Act request was filed, revealing that "one Greek silver coin, a 4th-century Roman coin, and a German coin had disappeared from the museum."
The worst part? The thief has reportedly been selling the artifacts on eBay.
The Times, which broke the story, writes that the Museum is facing "one of the worst scandals in its history."
The British Museum theft relates to broader problems in antiquities marketIllegal sale of antiquities are rampant. From unreported metal detecting finds to looted finds without provenance on international markets. Scholars who authenticate/publish such materials are complicit https://t.co/WhDY5yr1a6
— Flint Dibble 🍖🏺 (@FlintDibble) August 28, 2023
According to the BBC, the British Museum was allegedly first notified in 2021 by antiquities dealer Ittai Gradel that he had seen antiquities held by the museum listed on the site. The museum's deputy director reportedly waited five months to reply to Dr. Gradel, then told him that there was "no suggestion of any wrongdoing."
The museum opened an investigation that year; according to the New York Times, the investigation concluded that nothing "untoward" had occurred. However, in August, an unnamed employee was allegedly fired over suspicion of looting.
Upon hearing the news, many on social media were quick to call the museum hypocritical because the British Museum is arguably famous for housing many of the world’s greatest treasures from countries who’d like their stuff back.
Their main objection https://t.co/7rGWxdMWaR pic.twitter.com/NsDfi1GVIU
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) August 16, 2023
British Museum concerned about items reported stolen https://t.co/5tuCJjvNgp pic.twitter.com/fVzgeZx7dv
— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) August 16, 2023
The British museum is suing someone for stealing some of the stuff they stole from half the countries in the world.Feeling: lmao
— Votre interlocuteur est décédé. (@BouhBouhBulle) September 7, 2023
Embracing company culture https://t.co/y59rMQRHLK
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) August 17, 2023
The detective: please tell us which items in your collection are stolen.The British Museum: https://t.co/2k3TtOSQE6 pic.twitter.com/4qjOvwuUfR
— Katherine (@ksb78) August 16, 2023
One current high-profile example of this is Greece demanding the return of the Parthenon Marbles, which were taken in the 19th century by the British Lord Elgin, with "permission" from occupying Ottoman forces.
Earlier this year, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak doubled down on the UK's commitment to never return the Marbles, calling them "a huge asset to this country" and saying, “We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them." It's unclear whether Mr. Sunak has considered how huge an asset these Greek artifacts would be for the country of Greece.
It's worth noting that the UK's chief defense for keeping controversial stolen artifacts from all over the world — China, Greece, Nigeria — is the claim that these artifacts are "safer" within the United Kingdom than they would be in their countries of origin, where they may get lost, destroyed, or stolen.
Also worth noting is the fact that in building its famous Acropolis Museum, which was built expressly to house every artifact found on the Acropolis and its surrounding slopes, Greece has effectively neutralized the UK's argument that it is unfit to house its own antiquities.
