British Museum Deep Dive : What We Know About eBay Sales! - WB 22nd Sept 2023

Welcome to Watching Brief. As the name implies, each week Marc (Mr Soup) & Andy Brockman of the Pipeline (Where history is tomorrow's news) cast an eye over news stories, topical media and recent archaeological discoveries, and discuss and debate what they find.

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0:00 Introduction

3:16 Diving in…

5:36 16th Aug - BM Press Release

9:07 17th & 18th Aug - eBay Whistle-Blower

14:46 Director Fischer Dismisses Reports

15:36 25th Aug - Director & Deputy Director Resign

17:18 26th Aug - George Osborne BM Chairman Steps in

21:34 Former Curator BM “Incredibly Poor” Security Standards

22:56 31st Aug - Interim Deputy Director & Directors Appointed

28:09 Support Us on Patreon

28:54 Damaging an Already Controversial Reputation

35:56 Security, Integrity & Legitimacy of the BM’s Collection

42:23 Individual & Institutional Shame?

44:17 The Full Context of the British Museum’s Plight

47:50 Is the BM Trying to Mark Their Own Homework?

51:56 Future Reporting, Pertinent Museums Issues

55:04 The British Museum Has Become a Distraction!

56:20 We NEED to Fund Museums & Heritage Properly

57:48 Conclusion


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Link of the Week:

MOROCCO EARTHQUAKE Emergency Fund:

www.unicef.org.uk/donate/morocco-earthquake/

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Links:

British Museum worker sacked over missing treasures:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66527422

Announcement regarding missing, stolen and damaged items:

www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/…

Revealed: Stolen British Museum treasures worth up to £50,000 were offered on eBay for as little as £40 as expert curator is sacked:

tinyurl.com/37uz83ve

Revealed: Sacked British museum curator's Twitter name is same as ebay seller who flogged 70 items to whistleblower:

tinyurl.com/htzvsmye

Police spotted at home of British Museum curator accused of selling stolen items on eBay:

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/police-spotted-home-…

British Museum bosses first alerted to thefts in 2021: (£)

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66582935

What we know about the British Museum thefts so far:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66543589
British Museum director Hartwig Fischer resigns after suspected thefts:

tinyurl.com/mvhxyxkk

The British Museum's missing-treasures controversy so far:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-66626873

British Museum starting to recover missing items - chairman George Osborne:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-66626872

‘Incredibly poor’ British Museum security let thief take valuables over years, ex-curator claims:

tinyurl.com/27k2cyr3

How I smuggled a £20k foot out of the British Museum: (£)

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-museum-theft-gr…
British Museum recovers some of 2,000 stolen items:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66626619

The British Museum Promotes an Archaeologist to Effectively Lead the Institution in the Wake of Its Embattled Director’s Departure:

news.artnet.com/art-world/british-museum-carl-hero…

British Museum thefts: Mark Jones named interim director of the British Museum:

tinyurl.com/5d5xyhnm

New British Museum interim director vows to ‘restore reputation’ of institution:

tinyurl.com/22u4wpth

No plans to return Parthenon marbles to Greece, says Rishi Sunak:

tinyurl.com/yzmuhs4z

British Museum suspect 'was promoted to job in charge of Elgin Marbles after theft warning' - as director claims whistleblower had 60 of the artefacts himself:

tinyurl.com/e69kwwhp

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Mendoni: British Museum lost argument that Parthenon Sculptures safer in London:

www.ekathimerini.com/news/1218769/mendoni-british-…

Artefacts should be returned to Wales as British Museum 'isn't safe', says Liz Saville Roberts

tinyurl.com/mrbpka6j

China state media calls on British Museum to return artefacts:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-66636705

Why Chinese TikTok hit is fuelling calls for British Museum to return artefacts:

tinyurl.com/yzsjmvx7

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Being a victim of theft might help the British Museum reflect on returning its own swag:

tinyurl.com/39xkkpve

Politicians, not curators, are to blame for the British Museum’s woes:

tinyurl.com/4c7kkdrd
The British Museum thefts have exposed a deeper problem than just security:

tinyurl.com/mavm3n23
Theft isn’t the only problem facing the cash-strapped British Museum – and I have some answers:

tinyurl.com/5ha53ad5