Sir, - At this time of great uncertainty, wouldn't it be a nice international gesture of friendship if the United Kingdom, France and Vatican City were to return to Athens the Parthenon marbles now housed in their museums?
The nucleus of the missing Parthenon sculptures is the Elgin Marbles collection in the British Museum, which consists of 90 carved stones: 15 metope panels and 27 frieze panels from the southern side; five frieze panels from the eastern side; 21 frieze panels from the northern side; two frieze panels from the western side; 11 sculptures from the eastern pediment and nine sculptures from the western pediment.
Likewise, it is time the Louvre returned the two panels of Parthenon marble they hold, one metope panel from the southern side and one frieze panel from the eastern side. The Vatican City museum could lead the way by returning the head fragment from the southern side metope, now housed in their museum, to its torso housed in Athens.
All 94 stones could be returned on a 999-year lease loan and housed in the new Acropolis Museum. This would still leave 38 missing panels, presumed destroyed. Under UN guidance, an international agreement should be reached that if any of these missing panels are ever discovered, even as fragments, they should be returned to Athens.
Little did Thomas Bruce, Seventh Earl of Elgin, realise, when he removed the stones from positions they had occupied for 2,500 years, that he started a controversy which has continued unabated for 200 years and which today remains unfinished. - Yours, etc.,
Tony MacGabhann, Herbert Road, Bray, Co Wicklow.