British Museum facing legal action over Parthenon marbles 3D scan refusal

Parthenon marbles at the British Museum in London. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

The British Museum is facing legal action from one of the UK’s leading heritage preservation organisations over its refusal to allow the 3D scanning of a piece in its Parthenon marbles collection.

The Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) said it would serve an injunction against the museum imminently, raising the stakes in the dispute between the two.