By: Seringe ST Touray
Over the past week, reports surfaced regarding the puzzling disappearance of approximately 2,000 items from the British Museum’s invaluable collection of ancient and historical artifacts. This resulted in the resignation of museum Director Hartwig Fischer.
Commenting on the matter, Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist collaborating with Trafficking Culture—an entity devoted to examining the global illicit trade of cultural artifacts—provided insight. “The volume of missing objects is huge. No experts were expecting this to happen in one of the world’s biggest museums,” as reported by The Guardian.
In addition to Fischer’s resignation, the museum announced last week that it had sacked a member of staff after treasures were reported “missing, stolen or damaged”.
Deputy Director Jonathan Williams has also agreed to temporarily step away from his regular responsibilities until an impartial review of the museum’s theft cases has been completed.
