Thousands of Egyptians are demanding that the Rosetta Stone be returned to its home, saying its place in the British Museum 'supports past colonial endeavors of cultural violence.' The artifact has been in English hands since Napolean gave it up in 1801.
The petition calling for the return of the ancient Egyptian works states,"The presence of these artefacts in the British Museum to this day supports past colonial endeavors of cultural violence and deprives Egypt as the country of origin of not only the physical return of these objects, but also of their important role as Egyptian cultural heritage that spans a millennia of rich history.
Given changing attitudes toward the ethical acquisition of items, as well as an evolving sense of moral responsibility, the organizers say British authorities would be amenable to the return.This picture taken on July 2022 shows a close-up view of the cartouche of the Ptolemaic dynasty Pharaoh Ptolemy V"Epiphanes" inscribed with the rest of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic text in the upper portion of the Rosetta Stone, on display at the British Museum in London.
His comments were made after the Metropolitan Museum in New York had said at the time that it would return 19 small objects from King Tut's tomb to Egypt.