[Cronos]

I think it belongs to England, and should remain in their until they decide otherwise.

I don't think even the Brits would agree with you on that. The point they make is that they woul dbe the best to keep these artifacts safe -- a valid and very credible point.

However, the other point that these are parts of someone elses heritage is also true. When the Taliban brought down the Bamiyan buddhas, they were destroying their own sense of self, destroying their own culture, in the same fashion that the British under Cromwell destroyed the original Crown jewels that were centuries old.

imaginary tie to history??

The Egyptians and Greeks certainly don't have an imaginary tie to their own histories.

The gold, that's not a good argument to bring up -- the gold was part of Mexico's "heritage" when it was in the form of statues , jewellery etc. When it was melted down and made into coinage, it became part of the wealth which was taken from Mexico, which is another debate.

This is a separate issue from the point of repatriations, this is heritage. As I said before, we would be equally distraught, to say the least, if the declaration of independence was taken by some other nation and displayed elsewhere.

[Right Wing Professor]

However, the other point that these are parts of someone elses heritage is also true. When the Taliban brought down the Bamiyan buddhas, they were destroying their own sense of self, destroying their own culture, in the same fashion that the British under Cromwell destroyed the original Crown jewels that were centuries old.

Why? Because they happened to inhabit the same geographic location, two millenia apart? There is no ethnic or cultural connection between the mish-mash of Persian, Turkish and Arab tribes of modern Afghanistan, and the mixed Hellenic/Indian Gandharan culture that made the Buddhas. Why does geography trump everything?

[brownie]

To the victors go the spoils. There is no guaruntee that had not a french soldier found the stone, it would ever have been found. Moreover, there is no telling whether, if an egyptian had discovered the stone, its importance would have been recognized.

Moreover, someone could call just about anything his "heritage" or claim some historical "right" to something, see for instance the palestinians many "Historical" arguments for their right to Jeruselum. The American Indians heritage was certainly taken away by europeans/americans taking their land, should we return all of that land? Should every museum in the world search its collections and send each item back to its country of origin?

Frankly, I wonder whether there is any actual connection between most, if not all, of today's Egyptians and the people who inhabited the region when the pyramids were built and the Egyptian empire flourished. don't forget, those areas were conquered by Islam, who made it a practice to get rid of most locals once they counquered, thus my skepticism.