The exact ownership of the Elgin Marbles has been disputed for many years between the British Museum and the Greek Ministry of Culture in Greece. The British Museum intends to keep the Elgin Marbles in London and displayed in the Duveen galleries. The Greek Ministry of Culture is seeking to acquire the Elgin Marbles, which claims Greece is the marbles' correct home, to be placed in the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. My position in this controversy is that the Eglin Marbles be returned to Greece so that they can be placed in the New Acropolis Museum. My solution to this problem is for the British Museum to donate half of the Elgin Marbles to the New Acropolis Museum, which will choose which marbles it wishes to receive. In return the British Museum would receive some works of art from the New Acropolis Museum. The first problem with the Elgin Marbles is who is considered the rightful owner of the marbles. The British Museum says they are because they purchased the marbles from Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, who brought them to London after acquiring firmans from the Ottomans who ruled Greece at the time. But the firmans given to Lord Elgin by the Ottomans counter his actions in removing the marbles from the Parthenon. The firmans only gave Elgin permission to copy, draw, model and excavate around the Parthenon, without removing the marbles (UNESCO). The second firman gave Elgin permission to “excavate, carry away any sculpture or inscription which would not interfere with the works or walls of the citadel” (“History of the Marbles”). The second confirmation that Elgin had no right to remove the marbles from the Parthenon is a letter from Robert Adair, the British ambassador to Constantinople. Adair wrote to Elgin on 31 July,...... middle of paper......, Ian. “The 1930s cleaning of the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum.” British Museum. Np, nd Web. 22 March 2014. .Theodorou, Theodore. "Letter from Robert Adair to Lord Elgin." Adair in Elgin. Trans. Leonora Navari Web. 22 March 2014. .UNESCO, ed. Return or restitution of cultural goods to the countries of origin. Athens, Greece: 2008. Web. 22 March 2014. .Voulgarakis, Georgios. The presentation of the first fragment of the Parthenon Marbles returned to Greece. Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. 05 September 2006. Ministry of Culture and Sport. Network. March 22. 2014. .