The Libyan-British lawyer, Mohammed Ben Shaban, launched a public campaign to reclaim 2,000-year-old Roman relics from the grounds of Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom (UK), according to Al-Araby News.
The Roman ruins belong to the ancient city of Leptis Magna and were stolen by British army officers in the 19th century.
Ben Shaban, the first Libyan to be licensed as a lawyer to the UK Supreme Court, is lobbying the crown estate to “follow the spirit of international convention in returning these items of important cultural heritage.”
The columns of Leptis Magna – a city built between modern-day Tripoli and Sirte – were stolen from the temple of Augustus in 1817 by British imperial officers Hanmer Warrington and William Henry Smyth.
In the 17th century, 600 columns from Leptis Magna had previously been taken by Louis XIV for use in his palaces at Versailles and Paris. Remains from the site can also be found in Rouen Cathedral and the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Preps in Paris.
“We’ve said to the Crown: If you have evidence that these Roman antiquities were legally removed from Libya, then please provide it. If you don’t, please return them to Libyan State,” Ben Shaban told The New Arab.
“It’s like having part of the great wall of China in Bristol. It doesn’t belong there. If you visit it as a normal tourist you’ll appreciate its beauty. But if you’re from the country where it came from, you feel a sense of injustice,” he added.
British museums often claim custodianship of global heritage, preserving world history that would be at risk in countries experiencing conflict and instability such as Libya.
However, the legal team behind the Leptis Magna campaign have spoken to experts who believe the remains are at risk of critical damage due to prolonged exposure to British weather.
“The marble from which these columns were made is not made for British weather. They’re not being looked after more here. The original stoneworkers used material better suited to Libyan weather. It’s next to a lake in the south of England, but it was built for the desert,” Ben Shaban said.
“This is just a standing example of how empires abused their colonies. They stole oil, gold, people – but when it’s your history, your culture, it’s like stealing part of you, like stealing your DNA.”