Illegal excavation & sale of archaeological artefacts remains a problem today, just as much as it was hundreds of years ago. Two statues are on display in Athens, having been recovered from an illegal excavation in Greece.

From:
Balkan Travellers

25 May 2010
Recovered statues on display in Athens

Two marble statues of male youths, dated between 550 and 520 BC, were displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens last week, following their recovery by the police from farmers who were allegedly planning to sell them abroad.

The statues, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos and Greek police Chief Eleftherios Economou told media, were recovered during a sting operation near Corinth on May 14, when two men were arrested as they were loading the figures into a truck.
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More coverage of Greece’s response to statements made by the British Museum following the opening of the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
United Press International

Greece urges Britain to return sculptures
Published: June 22, 2009 at 10:27 AM

ATHENS, Greece, June 22 (UPI) — Greece used the opening of an Acropolis museum to renew its call to Britain to return sculptures taken from Athens’ Parthenon 200 years ago, authorities said.

Dimitris Pandermalis, director of the New Acropolis Museum, at an opening ceremony Saturday told Greek and world dignitaries now the time to rectify what he called an act of barbarism in the sculptures’ removal, the Athens News Agency reported Monday.
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A court in Bulgaria has ruled to allow the confiscation of some Byzantine plates currently in Greek Museums that they believe were obtained from illegal excavations. Greece is normally on the other side of disputes such as this – it will be interesting to see if they apply the same rationale to their response as they do to their own restitution requests.

From:
Balkan Travellers

BalkanTravellers.com
12 March 2009
Bulgarian court ruling

A Bulgarian court recently ruled for the confiscation of the nine Byzantine plates purchased by three Greek museums in Greece in 2004.

The confiscation is possible on the basis of a special EU law, which Greece has not yet adopted, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.
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Strikes continue on the Acropolis – an issue that needs to be resolved for the New Acropolis Museum, so that it can start as a reliably functioning entity.

From:
Balkan Travellers

27 February 2009
New Acropolis Museum strikes

Tourists hoping to visit one of Greece’s, and indeed the world’s, most famous cultural sites – the Acropolis, are disappointed for a second day in a row, as access to the site has been shut down by striking Ministry of Culture staff.

Demanding permanent positions and the payment of wages that are past due, the workers began their protest on Thursday, when they blocked the entrance to the monument and handed out flyers in different languages explaining the closure, international media reported. The strike is expected to last for three days.
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Greece has now officially designated April 19th to honour Lord Byron. The poet was known for many things, one of which was the vilification of Lord Elgin’s actions in the poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Greece to Officially Honour Lord Byron
BalkanTravellers.com
16 October 2008

Greece decided on an official day on which it will honour Lord Byron and other foreigners who participated in the war for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

A decree, signed by Greek President Karolos Papoulias, declared April 19 as the Day of Greekophilia and international solidarity.
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Developments such as the New Acropolis Museum mean that the Elgin Marbles may be closer to returning than they once were, but they are still a long way from Greece.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Ancient Greece’s Elgin Marbles Stand at the Centre of a 200-Year Long Great Ado
Text by Ekaterina Petrova

During his term as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the nineteenth century, Thomas Bruce, Seventh Earl of Elgin, already knew his actions were controversial and that he might go down in history as a “vandal.” But he most likely did not anticipate that, 200 years on, the heated international dispute he caused would continue to rage with full force.

Almost two centuries after the British diplomat controversially acquired and brought to Britain precious pieces of the Acropolis in Athens, the British Museum still refused to return them to Greece. The Elgin Marbles have in the past couple of decades become emblematic for disputes over the ownership of cultural heritage objects between wealthier countries and nations that boast ancient sites on their territory.
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This case is unusual, inasmuch as the fact that Greece is on the opposite side of the argument to usual.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Silver Plates Owned by Greece and Claimed by Bulgaria Will Not Participate in Byzantium Art Show
BalkanTravellers.com
10 September 2008

The Greek-owned Byzantine set, consisting of nine silver plates dating to the twelfth century, will not participate in Europe’s biggest Byzantine-themed exhibition of the last 50 years, Greek media reported today.

The plates will not be among the 100 artefacts that Greece contributes to the show because the dispute with Bulgaria, which has laid legal claims over the set, has not been settled yet, according to the Ta Nea newspaper.
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