Archaeological Property (2025 - 2025)

In the heart of Athens, the story of the void left by the original sculptures unfolds, while in London, visitors stand before the Elkin marbles. A story stretching from the colonial era to the present day, between those who consider them a global treasure and those who see them as part of a stolen identity. A renewed cultural debate puts museums to the test of historical justice.

This episode delves into a protracted conflict between Egypt and Germany over the famous Nefertiti bust displayed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, revealing the circumstances of its discovery by the German mission led by Ludwig Borchardt in 1912, the role of financier James Simon, and the differing positions between Egyptian archaeologists, most notably Zahi Hawass, and German officials regarding each party's right to the bust.