Many years after they were originally taken from Ethiopia during a punitive exhibition by the British army, the Magdala treasures in various institutions in the UK continue to be a source of contention. There has been little headway towards any sort of comprehensive assessment of whether any of these artefacts can be repatriated, despite the fact that they have a religious & cultural significance for many Ethiopians whereas in the UK many of them are not even on public display.

From:
Voice-Online

Should Britain return Africa’s stolen treasures?
BY Davina Morris
Published: 21 February 2010 – Issue: 1411

FANS of the ‘90s BBC comedy show The Real McCoy may remember the sketch when pro-African activist Babylon (played by Felix Dexter) urged black Britons to head down to the British Museum with a big bin liner to “tek back your tings!”

Though the sketch was intended to be comedic (and it was), it highlighted the ongoing issue of whether British institutions should return the many cultural items they possess that were taken from Africa years ago.
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New research suggests that the portions of the Codex Sinaiticus in the British Library may have been legally acquired. I doubt that this will be the end of disputes surrounding the document however.

From:
RT

Controversy over ancient Greek Bible resolved in Russia
Published 18 February, 2010, 18:05

A document which confirms the British Library’s ownership of Codex Sinaiticus, an ancient hand-written copy of the Greek Bible, has been found in the archives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The agreement was signed in 1869 by the archbishop of the St. Catherine Monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai and a representative of the Russian Empire.
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The Benevento Missal is likely to be the first artefact to be returned under the new Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act. This is an interesting case, as it was one of the pointers that highlighted that a chance in the law was necessary. The British Library returned it – but only as a permanent loan, as the law would not allow them to transfer ownership rights. It is also interesting though that the first case highlights the major loophole created by the new law. Because of the difficulty in proving that artefacts were looted specifically by the Nazis, the law instead covers any art looted during that time period – with the assumption that such cases will typically relate to the Holocaust. In the case of the Missal though, there is no specific evidence to tie its removal from Italy to Britain to the Nazis. This fact was highlighted by the Marbles Reunited campaign in a submission to a consultation in 2006 by the DCMS Select Committee. Whilst such returns are admirable, the inconsistencies in the law & piecemeal legislation only serve to highlight that large institutions will not step back & look objectively at restitution issues as a whole, rather than picking bits out here & there, to try & appease people while most cases remain un-discussed.

From:
The Times

December 1, 2009
British Library to return Benevento Missal under Nazi loot law
Ben Hoyle, Arts Correspondent

A medieval book is to become the first item from a British national museum to be returned to its rightful owners under a new law governing looted artefacts.

The Benevento Missal, which was stolen from a cathedral in southern Italy soon after the Allies bombed the city during the Second World War, has been in the collection of the British Library (formerly the British Museum Library) since 1947. After a change in the law, it could be back in Italy within months, according to The Art Newspaper.
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It is often stated that the Codex Sinaiticus was removed illegally from St Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai desert. Christfried Boettrich, a University of Greifswald theologian suggests that this is not the case though.

Whether or not the Codex was looted however, few could argue that the pages of a book split between different countries makes any real sense. Efforts should be made to reunifiy it because it is the sensible thing to do – the story in one place makes far more sense than the story spread between different locations.

From:
Deutsche Presse Agentur

Scholar rejects Egypt claim to oldest Bible – Feature
Posted : Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:08:37 GMT
Author : DPA

Greifswald, Germany – The extraordinary tale of how a German pastor discovered the world’s oldest book and arranged its removal from Egypt has been told in full for the first time in a new book. It was published in time for the completion in July of an online reconstruction of the 4th century Christian bible, known as the Codex Sinaiticus.

The actual pages of the Codex which are scattered between London, Leipzig, St Petersburg and the Sinai. A codex means a bound book, as distinct from a scroll.
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The world’s oldest bible, the Codex Sinaiticus is split between many locations. A project has been underway to reunify these separate fragments virtually so that the entire document can be viewed together.

In many ways its situation is similar to that of the Parthenon Marbles – separate surviving fragments split between different countries.

You can view the Codex Sinaiticus online here.

From:
Guardian

World’s oldest bible goes online
Maev Kennedy
Monday 6 July 2009

The oldest bible in the world, the Codex Sinaiticus, written in Greek in the fourth century but now scattered between the British Library, Germany, Russia and St Catherine’s monastery in Egypt’s Sinai desert, will be reassembled online today in a £1m scholarship exercise.

Nobody alive has seen all the pages together in one place. The pages of the codex, described as “a jewel beyond price” by Scot McKendrick, head of western manuscripts at the British Library, which has the largest part, have been scattered for over 150 years.
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The Lindisfarne Gospels are to return to North East England, but only on a temporary visit.

From:
News Post Leader (Newcastle upon Tyne)

Monday, 30th March 2009
Lindisfarne Gospels to make temporary visit to north east
29 March 2009
By ANTHONY McLEAN

THE Lindisfarne Gospels are to return to the north east of England, although only temporarily, it has been announced.
The British Library said the historic manuscripts, which were produced on the Northumberland island of Lindisfarne in the late 7th or early 8th century, could return to the region on loan for up to three months every seven years.

Campaigners from have long been fighting to bring the Gospels, which was drawn and illustrated to glorify the memory of St Cuthbert, back to the region permanently.
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More coverage of Ethiopia’s request addressed to many of Britain’s leading museums, for the return of stolen treasures, seized from the country in 1868.

From:
The Independent

Ethiopia demands stolen crown back
By Andrew Johnson
Sunday, 23 November 2008

President writes to British museums to call for return of more than 400 treasures looted in 1868

Ethiopia is demanding that Britain’s museums return some of its most significant religious treasures. President Girma Wolde-Giorgis has personally intervened in a dispute to get the artefacts, including the Ethiopian royal crown, returned home 140 years after they were “looted” by marauding British troops.
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The anti-deaccessioning laws that govern the British Museum & many of Britain’s other national museums & galleries are a consistent source of frustration for those pursuing restitution claims. Despite some loosening of the laws & other proposed changes, the regulations set out in the Acts of Parliament that govern these institutions stop most restitution claims from ever being properly considered.

The usual answer given is that whether or not they (the institution in question) wanted to return the artefacts, the law would not let them do so. This always seems like a bit of a smoke screen though – it is rare to see them suggesting that these laws are changed & one wonders what the next excuse would be once this barrier would be removed. On the other hand, as public opinion has shifted, the return of human remains has become a relatively accepted practise.

The case discussed below is also interesting, as it is a nominally intranational case in the same was as the Lindisfarne Gospels & the Lewis Chessmen.

From:
Iomtoday

Published Date: 23 October 2008
Chronicles won’t be coming home

ONE of the most important Manx historical documents will remain in the ownership of the British Library for the forseeable future, Chief Minister Tony Brown announced in Tynwald this week.
Enquiries had been made by the Manx government about the Chronicles of Mann being returned to the Island but hope was dashed because the British Library is legally obliged to keep its artefacts.

‘The ultimate aim was to have the Chronicles of Mann returned to the Isle of Man,’ Mr Brown said.
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One may be able to see the Codex Sinaiticus virtually reunited from today. This doesn’t solve the complex four way dispute over its ownership that continues behind the scenes though. The British Museum would do well to remember this case when suggesting that the issue of the Elgin Marbles can be solved by providing the Greeks with copies.

From:
The Times

From The Times
July 24, 2008
Ancient Bible with a murky past is on the path to a new era of clarity

The story of the Codex Sinaiticus Bible, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament in existence, reads like a script from an Indiana Jones film.

Ever since a German explorer controversially removed it from an Egyptian monastery, four countries have fought for control over the ancient manuscript.
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One hears about many collaborative projects at their inception – all too often though interest dies out & the planned eventual result never appears publicly. In the case of the digitisation of the Codex Sinaiticus though, the project has progressed to the extent that much of the work will be available for viewing online later this week.

From:
Agence France Presse

One of world’s oldest Bibles to be put online
21st July 2008

BERLIN (AFP) — One of the world’s oldest Bibles, the Codex Sinaiticus, which was discovered in Egypt in the 19th century, is to be made available online this week, the Leipzig University library said Monday.

The Codex Sinaiticus, which dates from the fourth century, is one of the two most ancient copies of the entire Bible in Greek. The other is the Codex Vaticanus.
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The chances of the Lindisfarne Gospels returning to North East England may be increasing. Could the Lewis Chessmen be the next intra-national restitution case to see progress?

From:
Financial Times

Durham hopes to regain Gospels
By Chris Tighe
Published: June 28 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 28 2008 03:00

Almost five centuries since Henry VIII’s thugs looted Durham Cathedral and stole the Lindisfarne Gospels, hopes are rising that this stunning work of art may return to its spiritual home.

A monument to the Golden Age of the ancient Kingdom of Northumbria, the 1,300-year-old manuscript created on Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast, has acquired something of the mystique of a holy relic.
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