The sculptures in the British Museum could be replaced by exact replicas, and it would be fitting to return them to Greece this year, says Roger Michel. Plus letters from Anna Watson, Alan Gavurin and Richard Pickvance
The Parthenon marbles have been a source of tension between Greece and England for 200 years (The Parthenon marbles belong in Greece – so why is restitution so hard to swallow?, 5 February). Lord Byron urged their return in the 1820s. Last year, Unesco did the same. Opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Britons favour repatriation. Unfortunately, the debate has become a zero-sum game, with the suggestion that there can be but a single winner.
Last month, at an event at Keats House in London, I tried to change that calculus: speaking alongside the Greek ambassador, I offered to reconstruct the marbles held by the British Museum. The copies, carved from the same stone, would be virtually identical to the originals.
