The British Museum in London has sacked a member of staff and police are investigating after treasures were reported “missing, stolen or damaged”. However no one has yet been named or arrested in the thefts, some of which later showed up on E-Bay.
Items including gold, jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones were among those missing from the museum, one of the UK’s largest tourist attractions.
The majority of the items were kept in a storeroom, the museum said.
None of the items, which dated from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD, had recently been on display and were kept primarily for academic and research purposes, the museum said.
The PA news agency said it understood the items were taken before 2023 and over a “significant” period of time.
George Osborne, chair of the British Museum, said: “The trustees of the British Museum were extremely concerned when we learnt earlier this year that items of the collection had been stolen.”
The missing-treasures scandal has prompted questions about the British Museum’s wider role as an institution housing objects from around the world.
Greek archaeologist Despoina Koutsoumba told the BBC this week the Parthenon sculptures are “not safe” in London. The Greek government has long called for the artefacts, often called the Elgin Marbles, to be returned to Greece.
It is understood the missing items were taken before this year and over a “significant” period of time. Some of them ended up on eBay, being sold for considerably less than their actual estimated value.
None of the treasures, which dated from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD, had recently been on display and had been kept primarily for academic and research purposes, the museum said. The majority of them were kept in a storeroom.
Among the treasures that have previously gone missing from the British Museum are a Cartier ring worth £750,000 and a 12cm marble head.
During the 1970s, the museum said a number of historic coins and medals were stolen.
In 1993, Roman coins and jewellery worth £250,000 were taken after thieves broke in via the roof.
In 2002, the museum reviewed security after a 2,500-year-old Greek statue, believed to be worth around £25,000 was stolen by a member of the public.
Source: BBC
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