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  "path": "/news/world/elgin-marbles-academic-banned-athens-museum-britain-elgin-marbles",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-20T02:19:48.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Greek PM arrives at No10 as Starmer insists return of Elgin Marbles is 'not on the agenda'",
    "Athens is the right place for the Elgin Marbles - Nigel Nelson",
    "Exposed: Tony Blair's secret bid to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece",
    "three meetings with the Greek Government",
    "Ghanaian gold",
    "Brighton and Hove Museums",
    "Wellcome Collection returned",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nAn academic has been banned from an Athens museum for backing Britain's claim to the Elgin Marbles.\n\nDr Mario Trabucco della Torretta, an archaeologist, was scheduled to make a presentation during at the Acropolic Museum in Athens.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nBut his appearance at the museum was vetoed after it had learned he had been scheduled to speak at a conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).\n\nDr Trabucco and the British Museum have confirmed the 2,500-year-old marbles were legally bought in the 19th century.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\nBut the Greek Government has long claimed the ancient statues were looted by Lord Elgin.\n\nProfessor Nikolaos Stampolidis, the director of the Acropolis Museum, shares the position the Marbles were stolen, and has been a leading advocate for their return.\n\nDr Trabucco said he was blocked from speaking at the conference after being considered \"persona non grata\" by the museum.\n\nHe told The Telegraph: \"The behaviour displayed by the Acropolis Museum’s board is unworthy of the world-class research institution it claims to be, and degrades the museum to a propaganda establishment that shuts down debate and quells dissent.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"In the city that prides itself on being the birthplace of democracy, one would expect higher standards.\"\n\nSpeakers at the RICS event were screened in April during the event's planning phase - and the institute was told Dr Trabucco was an \"unacceptable\" speaker.\n\nHe had recently appeared in a documentary about the Marbles produced by CGTN, a Chinese broadcaster.\n\nIn it, both Prof Stampolidis and Dr Trabucco pushed the case for and against a return, respectively.\n\n### READ MORE ON THE ELGIN MARBLES:\n\n\n\n\n  * Greek PM arrives at No10 as Starmer insists return of Elgin Marbles is 'not on the agenda'\n  * Athens is the right place for the Elgin Marbles - Nigel Nelson\n  * Exposed: Tony Blair's secret bid to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDisplays within the Acropolis Museum point guests to the lack of the artworks removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.\n\nDiscussions have been held about the future of the Marbles, with British Museum chairman George Osborne holding three meetings with the Greek Government in 2024.\n\nThe Greeks have refused to sign an agreement which would accept the British Museum legally owns the relics in order to secure a loan.\n\nLoan deals have been struck to return artefacts to their home countries, such as the British Museum's return of Ghanaian gold and a collection of Greek and Egyptian treasures to a leading Indian museum.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nElsewhere in Britain, the Brighton and Hove Museums have also pledged to give \"back\" legally purchased historic jewellery and accessories to Botswana in order to \"give them meaning\".\n\nAnd more recently, the Wellcome Collection returned 2,000 documents of \"spiritual significance\" to Jainism, which again were legally bought.\n\nLord Elgin was challenged on the removal of the sculptures from the Parthenon by contemporaries, including Lord Byron.\n\nIn 1816, a British Parliamentary inquiry confirmed the Elgin Marbles had been legally purchased, but in 2021 Unesco called on the Government to to resolve the issue.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Academic BANNED from Greek museum for backing Britain in Elgin Marbles debate"
}