The thrilling cinematic theft of historic royal jewels, worth 88 million euros, from the Museum of Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday morning, October 19, alarmed officials at all museums around the world, reminding them how vulnerable their security is and how exposed their movable cultural treasures are even in daylight.

The question of “how safe are our museums”, which after the spectacular theft, in such a direct manner reminiscent of Arsène Lupin movies (four men dressed as workers, with tools and a small lift, who in 7 minutes snatched their precious loot and disappeared in a scooter!) inevitably, apart from the stunned public opinion, it also concerns with particular intensity the experts all over the world and of course in Greece.

These are precisely the questions, about “how safe are our museums?” and whether “there are ways to better shield the mechanisms of protection of our heritage?“, that APE-MPE addressed to the heads of three of the largest and most important museums in Athens. The directors from the Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Museum, as well as the president of the Association of Greek Archaeologists (ACA) responded and gave their views.

N. Stambolidis: The Louvre to realize the necessity of restoring the Parthenon sculptures at the Acropolis Museum

“As long as museums do not respect themselves, I fear that this kind of phenomenon will exist, like the ones that preceded them at the Louvre and the British Museum. I hope that the Louvre will soon find the stolen important documents of the history of France, but at the same time realize the necessity of restoring the Parthenon sculptures in the Acropolis Museum that were stolen by Fauvel and which are part of the Parthenon’s body and the world’s cultural heritage,” the director general of the Acropolis Museum, Professor Nikolaos Chr. Nikolaos Stambolidis, Director of the National Museum of Greece, Professor Nikolaos Stambolidis. “The thorough recording and documentation of all the artifacts found in our country’s museums and abroad, in addition to the vigilance of the guardian staff, are the first steps in the protection of our cultural assets,” he added.

K. Nikolentzos: Intensification, enrichment, and completion of the National Monuments Archive

“In Greece, there are over 210 public/state archaeological museums and dozens of organised archaeological sites open to visitors. Based on the Statistical Authority, 6,651,911 were the visitors to our museums and 14,000,000 to our archaeological sites in 2024. Despite these large numbers, as you know better than we do, there have been very few isolated cases of theft or vandalism, the majority of which were detected or solved almost immediately. It should be noted that, in response to incidents of violence or theft, training seminars have been held for security staff, guidelines have been drawn up on the duties and modus operandi of guards in archaeological sites and museums, and the rules of entry to archaeological repositories etc. have been tightened. In addition, the National Archive of Monuments has been created and is constantly being enriched, making any attempt to steal/misappropriate antiquities pointless,” Konstantinos Nikolentzos, deputy director general of the National Archaeological Museum, told APE-MPE.

“The isolated and highly specific incidents show that:

*The security systems and the guarding staff of the museums are functioning satisfactorily and certainly deterring.

* It is understood that the exhibits have lost commercial interest, as they have effectively been put out of trade and commerce.

* The public has become aware of acts of vandalism/ theft of antiquities.

* International and European legislation, the memoranda of cooperation signed between Greece and the “host” countries of antiquities, the tightening of the Code of Ethics of the International Council of Museums have significantly and decisively reduced the possibilities of illegal trafficking of antiquities.

More information on issues of illegal trafficking, theft, vandalism and illegal excavations can also be obtained from the Directorate of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Property”, he adds and concludes as to the additional measures he would propose to better shield the mechanisms for the protection of our heritage: “Intensification, enrichment and integration of the National Monuments Archive. Introduction of new technology in the security systems/ constant renewal and updating. Increase the number of guarding staff and even with field guards (for unorganised archaeological sites). Examination of the feasibility of setting up a special police force for large archaeological and art museums with appropriate training and specialised knowledge.”

Aikaterini Delaporta: No guarding system is completely safe

The director general of the Byzantine & Numismatic Museum, Aikaterini Delaporta, stressed that although Greek museums are generally safe and follow the relevant protocols, improvements are always needed in terms of security personnel and the appropriate technological means for their effective protection.

“The robbery at the Louvre proved that ‘it happens in Paris'” and that no security system is completely safe. Large robberies like the Louvre are carefully planned; they are one step ahead of security systems, probably because they have accomplices on the inside. But neither are jewellery stores safer, as the British Guardian claims, if you think of the Bulgari robberies in 2023 and the Chopard in 2016 in Vendome Square and even this Lloyds Bank in London before,” Delaporta told APE-MPA, adding: “So I think that proportionally Greek museums are safe, they apply international security protocols and the directives of the Ministry of Culture, without this making them impregnable.”

Regarding the necessary mechanisms, Delaporta stressed that “they are always subject to improvements, depending on the specificity of each museum, starting with the increase in the number of guard staff and ending with the technological security infrastructure, alarms and surveillance systems. The installation of screening machines for visitors and the special training of the guard staff is very important, as is the strict observance of security rules, and why not, the creation of a special corps of antiquities guards within the Greek Police, serving in the major museums and archaeological sites”, added the Director General of the Byzantine & Christian Museum. She concluded: “On the other hand, I would like to emphasize that the guard staff in Greek museums, despite all the minor deviations and criticisms they receive, perform their duties with great conscientiousness because they feel that the museum they work for is their own and they protect it as their home.”

Association of Greek Archaeologists: Effective conservation cannot be done with cameras

“As the Association of Greek Archaeologists (SEA), we have to say that the need to hire security guards is imperative and that effective security is not done with cameras, but with professionals and their presence in sites and museums,” SEA president Kostas Paschalidis told APE-MPA.