Ta Nea, article by UK Correspondent, Yiannis Andritsopoulos

The Institute of Digital Archaeology to appeal against the British Museum's refusal to allow access to the Parthenon Sculptures

The Institute of Digital Archaeology (IDA) in Oxford will take legal action against the British Museum following the institution's inexplicable refusal to allow the Parthenon Sculptures to be scanned in order to make marble replicas of the fragmented pieces, housed in London since 1816.

'TA NEA' reported on the rejected response, which infuriated the Institute, as it was denied access to the Duveen Gallery where the masterpieces of Pheidias are housed.

“I'm really surprised at how short-sighted people can be. This arbitrary refusal reveals the intransigence of the British Museum, its arrogance and snobbishness", stated the director of the Institute, Roger Michel, to TA NEA.

IDA is a partnership between the universities of Oxford and Harvard. The project of reproducing the sculptures "with millimetre precision", which was reported in TA NEA in January: the Institute will offer the copies to the British Museum, inviting it to return the originals to Greece. The initiative received wide publicity in Britain and was 'applauded' by the conservative press, the ‘Times’ and the ‘Telegraph’.

The request to photograph these sculptures with three-dimensional imaging cameras was submitted on 08 February. The answer came the day before yesterday. "Digital scanning plays an important role in research and can lead to new discoveries related to various objects such as the Parthenon Sculptures," the response reads, adding, however, that "we are not in a position to approve your request. However, the reasons for the decision shall not be disclosed, nor shall any justification for declining the request be provided."

"It took almost a month and a half to reply to our request. Every week they would email me and assure me that the request we made is very common and it will be effortless for them to respond positively. In the end, they rejected it, without giving us any explanation," says Michel, a scientific fellow of Trinity College of Oxford.

It was precisely this fact that made him choose to use the judicial route. "This is an arbitrary and irrational decision. The Museum's refusal conceals a prejudice towards us. I do not think it is legally correct. The Museum, as a state-funded institution, must provide unhindered access to its premises."

In April, the head of the Institute will appeal this decision in a London court, stating that he is confident that he will be vindicated. "The Museum is obliged to treat all requests in the same way. As a public body, it is not entitled to act unjustifiably and arbitrarily. It does though. That's why I believe that eventually we will be given (by the court) the right to scan the Sculptures".

AFTER THE APPEAL. At the same time, Roger Michel argues that his move may pave the way for something much bigger: the return of these sculptures to Greece.

"I sincerely believe that our recourse to justice can be a catalyst for developments. The legality of the transfer of these sculptures to London and their retention by the Museum is blurred. So far, the judiciary has not been concerned that the international conventions to which Britain is bound will not allow it to hold onto cultural heritage. Is the British Museum violating some of these international agreements by keeping the Marbles in London?"

Litigation can drag on quite a bit. However, Michel is not going to shelve his ambitious project. "We are able to complete this even without the participation of the British Museum. With the material we have already gathered in other ways, we will be able in a few days to begin the three-dimensional imaging of the sculptures, on the basis of which we will make high-fidelity marble replicas."

The Museum did not provide Ta Nea with any justification for rejecting the request of IDA, other than: "It is not possible to meet all the requests we receive," a spokesman said.

20 March 2022

Sunday Telegraph

21 March 2022

The Times

Article also in 3D Printing Industry, to read more, follow the link here.

In 2011, the mindset of the British Museum was very different to that of 2022. Architect Niall McLaughlin told The Architectural Review, that his decision to 'quote' the Marbles on the athletes' block came after "researching the history and significance of the screen in architecture through the writings of Gottfried Semper and Karl Bötticher."

In the event, the decision to use the Marbles was prompted by "a clandestine conversation with senior curator Ian Jenkins late one night in the British Museum." Why clandestine?

"The last thing I want is for people to think it is to do with representing the origins of the Olympics," said MacLaughlin. 

God forbid that the Parthenon Marbles in London might be permitted to refer in any way to their Greek origins. After all, they are now what McLaughlin himself aptly describes as "deracinated". (Deracinated, for those without a dictionary to hand, originates from the late 16th century French term 'déraciner' — to tear up by the roots) wrote Tom Flynn.

This story was also covered in The Architectural Review, 30 March 2011. So what has changed 11 years later? A new Director at the British Museum, a new Chair of the Trustees at the British Museum, new Trustees, the 'retain and explain' mantra laid down by UK's current government? 

Telegraph 29 January 2022

Technology that allows archaeologists to make a millimetre-perfect replica paves way for a deal with British Museum, says Greek ambassador. The plan to copy the section of the Parthenon frieze in the British Museum comes from the Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA), which created a full-size replica of Syria’s Palmyra Arch which was blown up by Isis in October 2015.

To read this article in full, visit The Telegraph.

Ta Nea 31 January 2022

Yannis Andritsopoulos, UK correspondent for Ta Nea published an aricle on Monday:'New proposal for 3D copies of the Sculptures. The international Institute of Digital Archaeology is willing to make exact replicas with the ultimate goal of exhibiting them in the British Museum, as reported in ‘Ta Nea’ by the IDA’s director Roger Michel and the Greek Ambassador in London, Ioannis Raptakis.'

Speaking to ‘Ta Nea’ the head of the scientists who inspired the project explained that the innovative method developed by his team could create copies of the sculptures, which may convince the British Museum to return the fragment sculptures  in Room 18 to Greece. A move that is "justifiable and will be of benefit to both countries."

 "I want to see Boris Johnson and Kyriakos Mitsotakis shaking hands and smiling. There is a long history of cooperation between the two countries, which must continue. That's why we offered to make these copies. I think the British will realise that it is time for the Parthenon sculptures to return home. Nothing would make me happier than seeing them reunited in Athens," notes Roger Michel.

Initially, the Institute's scientists intend to "clone" a metope from the south side of the Parthenon located in the British Museum, which represents the struggle between a Lapithe and a centaur. "We're going to show people what this technology can do," Michel explains. This will take about three months and cost £50,000-70,000, a cost that the Institute itself will cover. "Then, we aspire to reproduce the entire parthenon frieze."

The Oxford-based institute has pioneered a technique known as 3D Machining. First a digital image is created using photogrammetry, then a robot-operated machine uses chisels in the same way as a human sculptor to carve a copy of the original.

"We will procure marble identical to the one used by Phidias," explains the director of the Oxford-based Institute, who will ask the British Museum to allow his team to scan the Sculptures on display in London.* 

The aim of the Institute is to exhibit the entire Parthenon frieze at the United Nations headquarters in New York and other cities of the world, until they are "installed" in London, if the British Museum allows it. "We hope the Museum will embrace our initiative and exhibit the copies, to facilitate the reunification of the surviving pieces in Room 18 with those in the Acropolis Museum.

"I am optimistic that the reproduction of the frieze will act as a symbol of Greek-British friendship and will lead to a gesture of goodwill that will correct a mistake that was made two centuries ago."

The Director of the Institute calls on the British Prime Minister to support his initiative. "Mr Johnson has been a great supporter of our work. Thanks to him, the copy of the Arch of Palmyra in Trafalgar Square was exhibited. I believe he can support us now. People change their minds and I think there's a chance it will help this call for the reunification also."

Speaking to ‘Ta Nea’, Greece's Ambassador to London Ioannis Raptakiswelcomed the Institute's initiative, which was inspired by his own intervention during an event in the British capital last Friday. "It is one step closer to meeting the respectful request for the return of the Sculptures to Greece. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakishas put a number of proposals on the table. It would be amazing, if the British government were to take the initiative to correct this injustice."

"The new technology allows the manufacture of exact copies. I believe that the British Museum should present these copies in its collection. It is time to allow the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures. It would be a magnanimous act of the British people and would be a recognition of our historic debt to Greece," Michael Wood, professor of history at the University of Manchester and member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (BCRPM), told ‘Ta Nea’.

To read the original article in Greek, follow the link to Ta Nea.

* In 2012, the BM gave Niall McLaughlin Architects permission to scan the frieze in Room 18