A look at the British Museum’s social media channels highlights why, when it comes to the long-disputed Acropolis sculptures, it is so keen to “change the temperature of the debate”. Those were the words used this week by the museum’s deputy director, Jonathan Williams, as he called for a new “positive partnership” with Greece over the marbles. Displayed in the London museum since 1832, their return has been sought by Greece for much of that time, leaving the two countries locked in a sometimes trying impasse. It is now time “to do something qualitatively different”, Williams told the Sunday Times. But what? Given recent comments by the chairman of the trustees, George Osborne, that “a deal” had to be done with Greece, the museum appeared to be hinting at a change in its stance on the marbles. So, is it possible that we will soon see the marbles being exhibited in Athens or maybe even returned to Greece for good? Not exactly. Pressed on the details of the proposed partnership, the British Museum was clear: “We will lend the sculptures, as we do many other objects, to those who wish to display them … provided they take care of them and return them.” Similarly, Boris Johnson’s comments that the return of the marbles was a matter for the British Museum were widely interpreted as a softening of the UK on repatriation. The government now insists it meant only loans – and that the museum is still legally barred from giving anything back. The museum may be right when it argues that the issue of legal ownership is not everything – “the public fails when conversations are confined to a legal and litigious framework” – but on this strict point, it seems, nothing has changed. There are, however, some who question how long the museum line will last. “These are all signs that they know the game is up,” says Dan Hicks, professor of modern archeology at the University of Oxford, who also quotes comments from V&A director Tristram Hunt that laws banning museums from returning artefacts will must be reconsidered. . “What is happening, I think, is a fundamental shift in the position of the public, the stakeholders and the communities that we say we serve as museums. This idea of ​​a benevolent cultural institution that shares is completely misplaced now, if not supported by the delivery of stolen goods. There is a big change in public opinion internationally.” Hicks has been a prominent critic of the British Museum and other institutions regarding the Benin bronzes, the legal status of which, unlike the marbles, is largely undisputed. Oxford University last week became the latest in a wave of institutions and governments to agree to return the bronzes, acknowledging that the treasures were looted from Benin City by British forces in 1897. So far, the British Museum continues to resist calls to return the 900 Benin artifacts is valid, speaking only of “research and cultural exchange initiatives” with “stakeholders and partners” in Nigeria. Museums large and small have been grappling with these issues for decades, says Tehmina Goskar, curator and fellow at the Museum Association, who until recently sat on the ethics and decolonization committee. “Because of social media, more people are talking about it, but in terms of the field, it’s been a thing for a long time. [It’s just that] he hasn’t moved too quickly to do anything about it.’ However, social media, increased engagement with diaspora communities and the anti-racist Black Lives Matter campaign have made issues of repatriation and decolonization harder to ignore, Goskar notes. Almost 60% of Britons now believe the Parthenon marbles belong in Greece, with only 18% thinking they should stay in London. There are many in the heritage sector who share the British Museum’s ambition to be ‘a museum of the world, for the world’. Among them is archaeologist Mike Pitts, who says the marble debate has “become more about politics and mudslinging than anything else… It’s much more useful to think about the present and the future than what happened in the past . “This is not to say that nothing should ever be returned. But I think we need a … wider discussion instead of a few, simplistic representations. As for a possible way forward, says Pitts, “the British Museum says we’re happy to lend material and they don’t seem to put any sort of limit on how much that loan can be. So one can imagine that some really important part of the Parthenon collection could effectively end up on permanent display in Athens. But as a loan.”