The Parthenon Marbles could be shared by the UK and Greece, British Museum Chairman George Osborne said on Wednesday.

Speaking to London-based phone-in and talk radio station LBC, Osborne said he would support an arrangement where the pieces were shared between London and Athens.

The set of sculptures, a major part of the decoration of the 5th-century Parthenon, have been a source of friction between Greek governments and the museum, where they are shown.

Osborne’s statements to LBC were the first to hint at an opening to a compromise.

Calling them “an amazing testament to human civilization,” the Osborne was asked whether that meant you could “move some of them to Greece at last for a while, and then back to London.”

“That kind of arrangement. Sensible people should come up with something where you can see them in their splendour in Athens and see them among the splendours of other civilisations in London,” he responded.

[AMNA]