The thieves of baghdad: a new way of looking at the unification of the Parthenon sculptures

Abstract

As the head of the US government’s investigation into the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003 and as an American of Greek descent, Matthew Bogdanos suggests that the tragedy of Iraq’s lost heritage can be used in three distinct ways to add perspective and poignancy to the discussion of the unification of the Parthenon sculptures. First, he suggests that all those involved in the debate should enlist the interest and support of mainstream society through a more broad‐based use of the media, on the basis that publicity means greater awareness – leading to increased scrutiny, pressure and resources brought to bear on the issues of recovery and repatriation. Second, he argues that if mainstream society were to see the removal of cultural property in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries not through the hazy distance of centuries long past but through the lens of April 2003 and the Iraq Museum, then the average citizen, voter and taxpayer might modify their traditional view of those who removed that property as benign gentleman adventurers. Finally, and fully acknowledging that it is not a perfect analogy, Colonel Bogdanos highlights the international outcry that would ensue if countries were to refuse to return any antiquities located in their country that were stolen from Iraq in 2003, noting that many of these countries are silent on the return of the Parthenon sculptures.