Craig Simpson
THE TELEGRAPH
Sat 25 January 2025
Colonel Richard Hawkins, a trustee at the Royal Engineers Museum, which could face calls from Ethiopia to return items - Crown Copyright
British Army units are facing a battle over artefacts looted from Ethiopia in a growing reparations row.
Famed regiments and corps defeated an Ethiopian emperor during an 1868 expedition and plundered his fortress capital of Magdala.
Units, including the Royal Engineers and Scots Dragoon Guards, kept looted mementos that are now stored in their regimental museums.
However, the Ethiopian government is now planning to demand that British regiments return the treasures pillaged by victorious soldiers 170 years ago.
Sat 25 January 2025
Colonel Richard Hawkins, a trustee at the Royal Engineers Museum, which could face calls from Ethiopia to return items - Crown Copyright
British Army units are facing a battle over artefacts looted from Ethiopia in a growing reparations row.
Famed regiments and corps defeated an Ethiopian emperor during an 1868 expedition and plundered his fortress capital of Magdala.
Units, including the Royal Engineers and Scots Dragoon Guards, kept looted mementos that are now stored in their regimental museums.
However, the Ethiopian government is now planning to demand that British regiments return the treasures pillaged by victorious soldiers 170 years ago.
The British Expedition to Abyssinia meets Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia - ALAMY
The African nation will need to persuade unit veterans and serving officers who oversee museums dedicated to regimental history to hand back the items.
It comes after The Telegraph revealed Ethiopian officials were also planning to demand the return of items held by the King as part of the Royal Collection. Officials in Addis Ababa may now consider approaching the Ministry of Defence, which helps to fund a number of museums, for assistance with the campaign.
The demands will form one part of a diplomatic push for artefacts led by the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, which will ask the Labour government to support returns
Abebaw Ayalew Gella, the director general of the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, said: “What was taken from Magdala was not something that was found there accidentally. This is a very well-planned expedition. We call it looting.”
He added: “We are working on what is where, and how we can negotiate.”
Sir Robert Napier led the British army to victory, defeating Emperor Tewodros II at Magdala in April 1868 - The Print Collector/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
British units invaded Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, in 1868 after Emperor Tewodros II took a number of European hostages in a fit of rage over a letter not being delivered to Queen Victoria.
Sir Robert Napier led the British army to victory at the highland fortress of Magdala, where Tewodros killed himself and the treasures he had assembled were looted.
Ethiopian experts are now drawing up inventories of artefacts held in the UK, after which formal repatriation requests will be made to all institutions holding treasures taken from Magdala.
While institutions like the British Museum are prevented by law from returning artefacts, collections tied to regiments may hand over treasures with the approval of trustees, who often have closed ties to the Army.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hawkins is one of the trustees of the Royal Engineers Museum - Crown Copyright
Those set to face these demands include the Royal Engineers Museum, overseen by the Institute of Royal Engineers and based at the corps headquarters in Kent. Several serving officers are among the trustees, including the current Corps Colonel, Colonel Richard Hawkins. The museum, which receives funding from the MoD, holds looted drums, swords, shields, an Ethiopian warrior’s cape, and chains used to secure one of the emperor’s hostages.
The Royal Artillery Museum in London also holds a sword taken after the Battle of Magdala. Decision-making trustees of the museum, which received £220,000 from the MoD in 2023, include Lieutenant Colonel Ben Baldwinson of the 19th Artillery Regiment, Scottish Gunners.
The museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is believed to hold a piece of a ceremonial Ethiopian drum taken by the Scots Greys, who later merged into the modern-day regiment. It is located at the unit’s headquarters in Edinburgh Castle, and its trustees are signed off by the regimental colonel, Brigadier Ben Edwards. These are led by chairman Rory MacLachlan, a former officer with the regiment.
Ethiopia is additionally seeking artefacts held by the National Army Museum, a public body under the MoD, which holds a shield and a damask coat possibly owned by Emperor Tewodros.
This shield was said to have been captured by Captain Cornelius Francis (Frank) James, DAQMS with the expeditionary force, during the Abyssinian campaign - National Army Museum
Officials are also inventorying artefacts held in regimental museums of units which have been disbanded, including the King’s Own Royal Regiment in Lancaster, which holds a shield, ring, illuminated scrolls and an Ethiopian Orthodox bible.
The Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum in Halifax is said to hold a plundered shirt which belonged to Tewodros, while the Cameronians Regimental Museum in Hamilton possesses a piece of the emperor’s coat.
The push for the return of royal paraphernalia comes as part of a planned 2026 campaign to reclaim all looted treasures from British collections.
The Labour government will be asked to support Ethiopia’s claims, which will include a demand that the Royal Collection of King Charles hands over sacred and secular artefacts taken from Magdala.
Regimental museums have been contacted for comment.
Oxford and Cambridge dragged into Ethiopia looting row
Craig Simpson
THE TELEGRAPH
Sun 26 January 2025
Cambridge University library contains various garments which were intended to be worn by Ethiopian royalty - Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Oxford and Cambridge universities will be told to return looted Ethiopian artefacts by the country’s government.
The objects, some of them royal treasures and prized religious manuscripts, were plundered by British forces from the fortress of Magdala after the defeat of the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II in 1868.
They were then dispersed across collections in the UK, with some ending up in the universities’ libraries.
Addis Ababa’s demand comes after both universities signed off deals to send Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in 2022, following commitments to “decolonisation” in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.
Officials in the East African country will launch a wholesale campaign to reclaim artefacts looted during the British expedition, and will request that the Labour Government supports the request.
The diplomatic push for artefacts will begin in 2026 and will be led by the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism.
The objects were plundered by British forces from the fortress of Magdala after the defeat of the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II in 1868 - Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
Abebaw Ayalew Gella, the director general of the Heritage Authority, said that looted artefacts were “some of the most important things in the political and cultural history of Ethiopia”.
From the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Ethiopia will hope to acclaim a cloak worn by Queen Terunesh.
This was taken when British forces seized the fortress of Magdala following a dispute over her husband, Emperor Tewodros, who took a number of European hostages in a fit of rage over a letter of his not being delivered to Queen Victoria.
The same museum also holds several other garments that came from Ethiopian royalty, while Cambridge’s library holds medieval bibles created for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, along with other holy books.
Similar Christian manuscripts are held in Oxford’s Bodleian Library.
The university’s Pitt Rivers Museum holds a number of parchment scrolls, crosses, shields and swords taken by British troops.
From the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Ethiopia hopes to acclaim a cloak worn by Queen Terunesh - Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
The British Museum and other national museums are bound by law to keep their collection intact, and legislation prevents treasures like the Elgin Marbles being handed over.
However, universities are charities and have the freedom to remove artefacts from their collections if decisions are signed off by the Charity Commission.
Following Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Pitt Rivers Museum began addressing its “rootedness in coloniality”, and within two years had agreed to a deal to return royal artefacts taken from the Kingdom of Benin, which was absorbed into modern-day Nigeria.
Cambridge also made a BLM-inspired “commitment to institutional change”, and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology returned more than 100 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
Sun 26 January 2025
Cambridge University library contains various garments which were intended to be worn by Ethiopian royalty - Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Oxford and Cambridge universities will be told to return looted Ethiopian artefacts by the country’s government.
The objects, some of them royal treasures and prized religious manuscripts, were plundered by British forces from the fortress of Magdala after the defeat of the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II in 1868.
They were then dispersed across collections in the UK, with some ending up in the universities’ libraries.
Addis Ababa’s demand comes after both universities signed off deals to send Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in 2022, following commitments to “decolonisation” in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.
Officials in the East African country will launch a wholesale campaign to reclaim artefacts looted during the British expedition, and will request that the Labour Government supports the request.
The diplomatic push for artefacts will begin in 2026 and will be led by the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism.
The objects were plundered by British forces from the fortress of Magdala after the defeat of the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II in 1868 - Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
Abebaw Ayalew Gella, the director general of the Heritage Authority, said that looted artefacts were “some of the most important things in the political and cultural history of Ethiopia”.
From the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Ethiopia will hope to acclaim a cloak worn by Queen Terunesh.
This was taken when British forces seized the fortress of Magdala following a dispute over her husband, Emperor Tewodros, who took a number of European hostages in a fit of rage over a letter of his not being delivered to Queen Victoria.
The same museum also holds several other garments that came from Ethiopian royalty, while Cambridge’s library holds medieval bibles created for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, along with other holy books.
Similar Christian manuscripts are held in Oxford’s Bodleian Library.
The university’s Pitt Rivers Museum holds a number of parchment scrolls, crosses, shields and swords taken by British troops.
From the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Ethiopia hopes to acclaim a cloak worn by Queen Terunesh - Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
The British Museum and other national museums are bound by law to keep their collection intact, and legislation prevents treasures like the Elgin Marbles being handed over.
However, universities are charities and have the freedom to remove artefacts from their collections if decisions are signed off by the Charity Commission.
Following Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Pitt Rivers Museum began addressing its “rootedness in coloniality”, and within two years had agreed to a deal to return royal artefacts taken from the Kingdom of Benin, which was absorbed into modern-day Nigeria.
Cambridge also made a BLM-inspired “commitment to institutional change”, and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology returned more than 100 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
Abebaw Ayalew Gella has said looted artefacts were ‘some of the most important things in the political and cultural history of Ethiopia’ - Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, the grandson of Haile Selassie, the final Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie under the dynasty which was attacked by the British in 1868, hopes British collections will return any plundered royal and religious artefacts.
Speaking to The Telegraph in Addis Ababa, he said: “Ethiopia is very much a Christian and monarchical heritage too is intertwined.
“The church and the crown were really very strong pillars through Ethiopia’s history, and they also manifest the cultural identity. Those items have a lot in terms of inherent identity.
“The younger generation would get pride back by having them return home.”
Ethiopian officials will ask the Labour Government to support repatriation claims, which will include a demand that the Royal Collection of King Charles hands over sacred and secular artefacts taken from Magdala.
Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie has said the looted royal and religious items ‘have a lot in terms of inherent identity’ in Ethiopia - Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
The diplomatic campaign comes after Greek newspapers reported that Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, was “keen to talk” with Athens about the rerun of the Elgin Marbles.
Sir Keir Starmer’s close aides suggested in 2024 that he would not seek to block a deal for their return.
In 2024, The Telegraph revealed that Labour had left open a legal loophole that could be used to circumvent existing legislation preventing the handover of artefacts.
This could pave the way for Ethiopia to claim sacred Orthodox tablets or “Tabots” held in the British Museum, which does not display the items due to religious sensitivities, but also cannot return them due to existing museum law.
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