The Great Court inside The British Museum.
(Picture: PA Archive)A former Archbishop of Canterbury has urged the British Museum to return a collection of Ethiopian religious treasures to Africa.
Lord Carey said he hoped the museum would act with “urgency” and give the artefacts — called Tabots — back to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He said he was frustrated the artefacts, considered sacred in Ethiopia, were still at the museum where they are locked away from public view on account of their religious significance.
Lord Carey said: “There is some frustration that it is taking so long for the trustees of the British Museum to return Tabots — which for religious and cultural reasons cannot be displayed publicly, cannot be studied by scholars and are therefore much better off returned to the only people for whom they have value.”
The museum said the wooden carvings, used to consecrate churches, are housed “in consultation with the Ethiopian Church”.
It added: “Ethiopian objects on display at the museum show the breadth, and explain the diversity of religious traditions in Ethiopia, including Christianity, Islam and Judaism as well as other faiths.”
