British Museum investigated over looted Ethiopian items

The information watchdog is investigating the British Museum over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection - a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years.

- Esther Addley

The 11 wood and stone tabots, which the museum acknowledges were looted by British soldiers after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868, have never been on public display and are considered to be so sacred that even its own curators and trustees are forbidden from examining them.

There have long been calls for them to be returned to Ethiopia. In 2019 the country's culture minister, on a visit to the museum, requested their return.

Campaigners have now submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) arguing that the museum has failed to disclose key details of internal discussions about the tabots in response to a freedom of information request.

Returning Heritage, a not-forprofit organisation that collates information on cultural restitution, submitted the Fol request in August 2023 and says the museum's reply omitted relevant material, while other information was overly redacted. An internal museum review carried out at Returning Heritage's request upheld its initial response.