The British Museum, one of the most renowned cultural institutions in the world, has announced the departure of its deputy director, Jonathan Williams, amidst a scandal involving the theft and damage of artefacts. This development follows an extensive inquiry into the disappearance of approximately 2,000 items from the museum’s collection.
Williams had previously stepped back from his role while an investigation was conducted into the scandal, which also saw the resignation of the museum’s head, Hartwig Fischer, in August. The inquiry, prompted by suspicions raised by academic and antiquities dealer Dr Ittai Gradel in 2021, led to a shocking revelation of the scale of the missing, stolen, or damaged items, valued at millions of pounds.
An internal audit initiated in 2021 uncovered discrepancies in the location of items within the Greece and Rome strongroom, leading to a more comprehensive audit of the museum’s collection. The results of this audit, which began in April 2022, revealed further evidence of missing objects.
As a result of these findings, an unnamed staff member has been dismissed, and the museum is pursuing legal action. A concurrent police investigation is also underway. The review, conducted by Sir Nigel Boardman, Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, and Deputy High Court Judge Ian Karet, found that out of the 2,000 items, around 1,500 are either missing or stolen, and approximately 350 items have been partially removed or damaged.
The museum believes many of these missing portions, especially gold mounts for gems, are likely irrecoverable as they may have been sold as scrap. Tool marks have also been identified on about 140 items. To date, 351 items have been returned, and more than 300 further items have been identified.
In response to these findings, the British Museum has initiated over a third of the recommendations made in the published report. These include plans to complete the documentation and digitization of the entire collection within the next five years. Sir Mark Jones was appointed interim director after Fischer’s resignation.
This incident has raised significant concerns about the security and management of invaluable cultural and historical artefacts at major museums. The British Museum has expressed its commitment to enhancing its security measures and transparency to prevent such incidents in the future.
