The Herald 30 March 04

A CAMPAIGN for the return of scores of treasures looted by British soldiers from Ethiopia more than a century ago has been dealt a blow by Edinburgh University.

The Association for the Return of the Magdala Ethiopian Treasures (Afromet), which has involved the Queen in its quest for plundered articles, has been told four manuscripts with probable links to the British invasion of the country and held by the institution will not be handed back.

Although no final decision has been taken, the university authorities seem certain to accept a recommendation by John Scally, its director of university collections, that the material should not be repatriated but retained in Edinburgh.

Afromet claimed Dr Scally's recommendation was "a sophisticated version of finders keepers." It said it would be lobbying the university court and its rector, Tam Dalyell MP for "a fair hearing."

Dr Scally examined manuscripts which Afromet had claimed had positive links to events in 1868, when the army was sent in to rescue British diplomats held in a fortress in the village of Magdala which was used as a base by Emperor Theodore II, Ethiopian ruler.

Dr Scally said his study of the items had been "a long exercise" and he had now written to Afromet indicating he believed four manuscripts could be evidentially linked to the Magdala dispersal by provenance information that came with them, such as letters. None of the items, however, contained marks of ownership, such as inscriptions.

Dr Scally said he was recommending to the university court, in line with the general principle adopted by other institutions like the British Museum and British Library, that cultural material should not be repatriated unless human remains were involved.

He said he had passed his decision to Afromet.

He added: "On a more positive note I have said I feel we could talk about surrogate repatriation such as microfilming or digitising material."
He said the British Museum had begun dialogue with the Ethiopian authorities in Addis Ababa about this.

Dr Scally said he believed items such as the manuscripts he examined would not have survived if they had not been held by institutions. "A few thousand things were dispersed and very few survived. Just about all that has are in a clutch of UK institutions," he said.

Also see:

University refuses to return looted manuscripts
The Independent (UK) 03 April 04