Posted on 01/08/2026 4:20:30 PM PST by SunkenCiv
More than two years after the British Museum announced that a number of its Greek and Roman artifacts were stolen, missing or damaged, the institution hopes to strengthen its search for the lost items by hiring... a dedicated treasure hunter.
...will assist in finding the items... whereabouts remain unknown after the museum revealed the theft in 2023...
Of the estimated 1,500 artifacts that were originally reported missing, 654 have been recovered so far. Some items were identified after being listed on eBay -- including a piece of Roman jewelry worth $60,000 that was selling for $48 online -- and many others were retrieved with the help of art dealers and catalogers who discovered stolen goods that had made their way to auction. One of the most significant recoveries was a haul of 268 items found in the United States...
All missing artifacts have been listed on the Art Loss Register, an international database of more than 700,000 stolen items.
The treasure hunter will also help with the museum's own internal auditing of its archives, to ensure that additional items aren't unexpectedly missing. In the aftermath of the 2023 announcement, an independent review found that the institution needs to improve its record-keeping...
The museum was alerted to the thefts in 2021. At first, officials "incorrectly concluded that there was no basis to the claims," per the museum. However, an internal audit in 2022 revealed more evidence of missing artifacts. Officials contacted the police that December, and the thefts were made public the following year.
Peter Higgs, a curator at the museum for 30 years, was fired after being accused of stealing artifacts, though he has denied all allegations. The museum's director at the time, Hartwig Fischer, resigned just nine days after the thefts were announced.
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...
I’ll have to tell the host I’m allergic to monkey.
Okay that would be my reaction too. 😳
He was inspired to become an archaeologist by his cousin, Wayne Fort.
🕵️
We have to secure all major art by getting it out of Europe before Islamic art destroyers get at it. I’m not kidding.
And the ecoterrorists.
🔍Thanks!🔎
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