The head of the British Museum, George Osborne, confirmed yesterday that around 2,000 artifacts including gold and precious stones were stolen from the museum over a long period of time, but recovery efforts are already underway.
And the museum said last week that one of the employees was dismissed after discovering the theft of pieces from the store dating back to a period extending from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD.
The museum is one of the most famous tourist attractions in London, and its treasures include the Egyptian Rosetta Stone, which bears inscriptions in hieroglyphics and other ancient writings.
Osborne, a former chancellor of the exchequer, told BBC radio that the museum’s holdings were not fully listed or properly recorded, a situation not uncommon for large institutions that have collected their collections over hundreds of years.
He added that a criminal investigation is underway to find out what was stolen. “We think it’s about 2,000 pieces… but I have to say that this is a very tentative number, and we’re still looking actively,” he said.
“We have already started recovering some of the stolen goods,” he added, without giving any details about what was recovered or how it was recovered.
It is noteworthy that the director of the museum, who recently resigned, Hartwig Fisher, admitted that the museum “did not deal comprehensively as it should have regarding warnings in 2021” regarding stolen artifacts.
“Over the past few days, I have been reviewing and investigating in detail the events associated with museum thefts,” Fischer, a German art historian, said in a statement.
“It is clear that the British Museum has not responded as comprehensively as it should have with regard to the warnings in 2021, and with the problem that has now fully emerged,” he added.
“The responsibility for this failure should ultimately lie with the manager,” he added.
The total value of the missing pieces is believed to be in the “millions of pounds”.
While George Osborne said that Fisher “was treated with honour, and that no one ever doubted his integrity, his devotion to his work, or his love of the Museum”.
And the museum announced earlier that the artifacts were not finally shown to the public and that they were kept inside a warehouse, stressing that they were mainly used in the field of research and academic work.
investigation
The British Museum announced last week that it had fired a staff member, without disclosing his name, after it was confirmed that some items from his collection were lost, stolen or damaged. The British news agency said that the museum did not take any legal action against the aforementioned employee, and that the police were investigating the matter, but did not make any arrests.
George Osborne:
“The museum’s holdings are not fully listed or properly registered.”
Hartwig Fisher:
“The museum did not deal comprehensively as it should have regarding warnings in 2021.”
#Theft #British #Museum.. #artifacts
2023-08-26 22:06:29
