Two UK museums open up their collection to Cambodian archaeologists looking for looted treasure

Cambodian government says artefacts could have been illegally brought into the UK museums

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Friday 30 September 2022 15:48 BST
Comments
Protesters put pressure on British Museum to return ‘stolen’ items

Two major British museums are opening their collections to Cambodian archaeologists for inspection following allegations that valuable artefacts were illegally brought to England.

The Cambodian government in May this year demanded the right to inspect the museums to recover antiquities that it says were stolen from the country’s temples during years of conflict under the Khmer Rouge regime.

The British Museum, a month later, granted permission for a specialist team to inspect and identify the potentially stolen objects, the Cambodian government said. The museum houses nearly 100 pieces from the southeast Asian country.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in