Art News highlighted the archaeologist's call, Dr. Zahi Hawass, to demand the British Museum return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, after he announced last week that he intends to send a petition signed by a group of Egyptian intellectuals to European museums in October.
In 1802 the British Museum acquired the 2,200-year-old Rosetta Stone, inscribed with hieroglyphs, ancient Greek and cursive Egyptian letters, from France under a treaty signed during the Napoleonic Wars. Artifacts in the British Museum.
Zahi Hawass asserts that the Rosetta Stone left Egypt illegally, and as head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, he reportedly told former British Museum director Neil MacGregor since 2003 that he would make every effort if he did not return the stone voluntarily.
The request comes on the heels of the English Language Arts Council's release of new refund guidelines, which advise sensitivity, returning items where appropriate, and arranging long-term loans.
The British Museum is working with Egyptian scholars to organize a new exhibition on Egypt, according to a museum spokesperson, that aims to make the Rosetta Stone accessible by posting a 3D scan online.
Recently, Germany returned the looted Benin bronzes to Nigeria and invited the British Museum to a "Parthenon Partnership" to loan the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
Wed, Aug. 24, 2022
