Greece has renewed calls for the UK to return the iconic Parthenon Marbles unearthed from Athens in the 19th century, after it was revealed last week that the British Museum had fired an employee for allegedly stealing and selling more than 2,000 valuable items.
Despina Koutsoumba, Director of the Greek Association of Archaeologists, told the BBC:
“We want to tell the British Museum that they can no longer say that Greek cultural heritage is better preserved in the British Museum than in Greece.”
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the theft “strengthened her lasting and just demand that the statues be returned and reunited definitively to our country”.
The museum admitted last week that many artifacts were lost, stolen or damaged.
He then fired Peter Higgs, a senior curator and expert on Greek art, who has been in the business for 30 years.