Return the ‘looted’ Rosetta Stone, a famous Egyptian archaeologist asks again

The polished fragment with inscriptions in two languages ​​is considered the most famous piece of rock in history: the Rosetta Stone. A piece of dark granite just over a meter high, found in the Egyptian sands in 1799, with chiseled text in Egyptian hieroglyphics, but also in a then more common script, and in ancient Greek. Thanks to the knowledge of this last language, the hieroglyphs, which appear on many monuments and ancient objects, could be deciphered. The partially crumbled stone is one of the most important artifacts from the rich history of the Egyptian pharaohs.

Small problem: the 760-pound chisel has been on display at the British Museum in London since 1802, and the Egyptians have long demanded the return to their land, which they say has been plundered. Last Friday again, through Zahi Hawass, 75, renowned archaeologist, Egyptologist, former Secretary of Antiquities, and just as famous for his inseparable Indiana Jones hat. After the fall of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011, his ministry ended, but not his zeal for restoring Egyptian heritage.

Petition

In The National, an English-language daily for the Middle East, last week called for the return of not only the Rosetta Stone, but also the famous bust of the female pharaoh Nefertiti – since 1920 in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin – and the Dendera zodiac. , a piece of ceiling from ancient Egypt that represents the celestial vault and its constellations. This relief has been in the Louvre in Paris for a hundred years.

Hawass revealed in the newspaper the project to launch a petition from a “group of Egyptian intellectuals”, addressed to European museums: “I think that these three objects are unique and that they belong to Egypt”. His appeal subsequently attracted international media attention.

The timing of the requested refund is no coincidence. In the desert plain near the pyramids of Giza, the Egyptians have been building the gigantic “Grand Egyptian Museum” for years. Its completion has already been postponed several times, but is expected to take place this fall. The three archaeological sites of London, Paris and Berlin would find their place in the collection of statues, mummies and paintings, including those of the most famous pharaoh Tutankhamun.

supplications

Earlier, in 2019, Hawass harassed the directors of the British Museum, the Louvre and the Egyptian Museum: “How can you refuse to lend to the Grand Egyptian Museum when you have stolen so much from Egypt?” But his requests were rejected by the museums.

For decades, countries, mostly former colonies, have been reclaiming a heritage that would have been wrongly taken by Western powers. For a long time, returning these treasures was out of the question. That has changed in recent years, in part due to anti-racism protests and attention to the history of slavery.

The Netherlands is working on a procedure for requesting the restitution of colonial heritage. France and Germany are in the lead. Recently, these countries announced that they would return their collections of the so-called “Benin Bronzes” to Nigeria. These are statues that were made from the 16th century on behalf of the former kingdom of Benin, now a territory of Nigeria. In 1897, thousands of them were looted by British troops.

Parthenon friezes

The British Museum holds more than 900 objects from this ancient kingdom, but has not yet made any mention of restitution. The institution has also been under pressure for many years to return another treasure from antiquity: the Parthenon Friezes, a collection of marble sculptures that adorned the exterior of the Parthenon temple on Mount Acropolis in Athens. Greece wants to recover these “Elgin Marbles” (named after the Englishman who took them to London between 1801 and 1804), but the UK has so far refused to do so.

Still, it seems the rejection has had its day. In June, the chairman of the British Museum’s trustee suddenly offered a deal to share the Parthenon friezes with Greece. He suggested showing the marble treasures in Athens and London. However, he added that he was not speaking on behalf of all members of the supervisory board. It’s been quiet since.