British Museum theft

Modern museum heist - 11th September 2023

A recent investigation found that an estimated 2,000 artefacts are thought to have been stolen from the British Museum which has brought the efficacy of the institution's security system into disrepute. Following investigations into the missing artefacts, dubbed the worst case of museum theft in modern times, one staff member's been dismissed and the museum director resigned over the mishandling of the case.

Established in 1753, the British Museum houses a collection of some 8 million artefacts of which only 80 thousand are exhibited. The remainder are held in storage with restricted access to staff only and selected academic researchers.

According to archeologist Dan Hicks, the museum made a blunder by not having catalogued their entire collection, leaving unlisted artefacts almost impossible to detect let alone retrieve. Moreover, given the lack of electronic sensors, entrances equipped with CCTV and swipe cards for staff to gain access to storage, the artefacts weren't safe to begin with, as Hicks puts it - a "disaster waiting to happen."

The thefts went undetected by curators for several years and would have perpetuated had it not been for a heads up from Ittai Gradel, an antiques dealer, who in 2021, cautioned the directors at the museum of the lack of security of the artefacts to which they turned a blind eye.

Gradel claimed, "I was entirely at their disposal for any further information or assistance they would require. They never contacted me."

It wasn't until Gradel emailed images of 70 artefacts off eBay, which were the property of the British Museum, that the antiques dealer's warning was heeded. Nevertheless, Gradel stated, "If they can't be identified, how can they return them to the museum?"

Whilst some of the artefacts have been recovered, the museum and the police are working in tandem to retrieve more pieces. Given the stain this has put on the institution's reputation, there have been requests for the return of cultural artefacts from other countries who hold historical claims such as the Director of the Association of Greek Archeology Despina Koutsoumba who was adamant that, "[the British Museum] have to return the Parthenon Marbles because they are not safe."