A new documentary, The Marbles, claims to prove “beyond any shadow of a doubt” that the Parthenon Marbles were stolen, according to director David Wilkinson.
The film re-examines how 19th-century diplomat Lord Elgin removed the Parthenon Sculptures from Athens while Greece was under Ottoman rule, arguing that he did not legally acquire them, calling it “the greatest heist in art history.”
Featuring actor Brian Cox, historian Dominic Selwood and solicitor Mark Stephens, the documentary questions the legitimacy of the Ottoman “firman,” a document said to have granted Elgin permission to take the marbles.
Wilkinson said no such record exists in Ottoman archives despite decades of research, adding: “There would be a record in Istanbul … and they can find nothing.”
However, classical archaeologist Dr Mario Trabucco della Torretta dismissed Wilkinson’s bribery allegations as “wrong in historical terms,” arguing the only reference to “presents” appears years later and that archives may have been destroyed during the Greek revolution.
The British government purchased the sculptures from Elgin 200 years ago and placed them in the British Museum, where they remain.
The museum says discussions with Greece over a “Parthenon Partnership” are “ongoing and constructive,” though the British Museum Act 1963 still prevents their legal return.
