The ongoing controversy surrounding the theft of artifacts from the British Museum in London has raised questions about Egypt’s chances of reclaiming its treasures from Britain.
Egyptian archaeologists have viewed the incident as “possibly an opportunity to renew the demand for the return of the Rosetta Stone displayed in the British Museum.”
Approximately two thousand art pieces were stolen from the British Museum, with some of them recently recovered.
This incident led to the resignation of the museum’s director, Hartwig Fischer, and the stepping aside of his deputy, Jonathan Williams, pending the completion of investigations.
They faced significant pressure since the announcement on August 16, 2022, regarding the loss of a series of artifacts from the museum’s collections, some dating back to the fifteenth century BCE.
Renowned Egyptologist and former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, has called for the retrieval of the Rosetta Stone in light of the recent incident.
In a press statement, he stated that what occurred at the British Museum was a “major catastrophe.”
He further emphasized that the presence of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum was a “grave error” because this stone is an icon of Egyptian antiquities, and its rightful place should be in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Egypt.
The history of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone dates back to July 1799 when it was found by one of the French officers during Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign in the city of Rosetta.
After Napoleon’s forces withdrew from Egypt, ownership of the stone, along with a collection of other artifacts discovered by the French in Egypt, was transferred to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801.
Article 14 of the treaty explicitly stated that “France cedes the stone and all antiquities discovered by it in Egypt to Britain.”
Consequently, the stone has been part of the British Museum’s exhibits in London since 1802.
