Patricia Skehan – The Elgin Marbles

Patricia Skehan presents her work on the controversial Elgin Marbles, housed in the British Museum. This is the strange and tragic story of events that led to the removal of ancient statuary from the Parthenon.

As Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin resided in a palace in Constantinople, hundreds of miles away from the Parthenon. In his name archaeologists on site took many liberties. When Lord Elgin did eventually visit the site, he was appalled at what had been done in his name. Although attributed to Lord Elgin, the real mistakes come to light in this fascinating research from the British Museum and an interview with David, the current Lord Elgin in 2000, it tells a very different story to the usual misconceptions.