Belize joins a list of countries from which repatriation requests have been made to the British Museum. People in Egypt, Greece, and Benin are all seeking the return of looted cultural objects. In Egypt, efforts are underway to get the return of the famed Rosetta Stone taken by Napoleon’s troops. Greece has long been trying to get marble statues from the Parthenon, taken under orders of Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to Greece. Benin has been seeking bronze statuettes taken by the British Army.
The Belize request comes from the country’s most remote village, San Benito Poite. The village is situated at the site of Pusilha, a significant ancient Maya city, today largely unknown because of its remoteness. After several community meetings and much discussion the village has adopted a resolution addressed to the British Museum. The resolution is signed by Alcalde Manuel Cucul and Chairman Richard Caal.
“Human remains, carved monumental stelae, carved monumental altars, lithic artefacts, and ceramics were removed from the ancient city of Pusilha at San Benito Poite in Belize…by armed expeditions of the British Museum (1928-1931)…without the valid consent of the Maya people.”
“Said objects are the cultural historical heritage of the Maya people and the citizens of San Benito Poite…not the lawful property of the British Museum,”
The village resolution makes seven demands on the British Museum:
1) Return all human remains that were removed for proper reburial at Pusilha.
2) Return the carved monumental stelae and altars to Pusilha.
3) Return a representative sample of the lithic and ceramic objects that were removed and provide for the cost of transportation of all returned objects.
4) Provide a repatriation grant to the Village of San Benito Poite in the amount of $1,000,000 BZD for the design, construction, signage, and first year operation of a Visitor Center to securely house the returned lithic and ceramic artefacts and provide any necessary technical assistance.
5) Provide a ten-year reparation scholarship fund, not to exceed $50,000 BZD per year, to permit students, selected by the Village of San Benito Poite, to study Maya culture and history, archaeology and related conservation studies. Said scholarship fund to provide for necessary tuition, transportation, and housing costs during the course of studies.
6) Provide transportation expenses for two Village representatives to travel to the British Museum to inspect the Pusilha collection and meet with Museum officials to discuss a collaborative partnership.
7) Provide appropriate staff to conduct a community program to the residents of San Benito Poite on the Pusilha collection at the Museum and the significance of the ancient city.
Notorious looter Thomas Gann joined forces with members of the British Honduras Expedition team to visit Pusilha and take as much as they could. The expedition teams were armed and did as they pleased, archaeological protocols ignored. Altogether four trips were made by the museum to haul out carved monuments, lithic treasures, and an “immense quantity” of pottery. No inventories were made, stratigraphic records were not kept, and a steel chisel and sledge hammer were used to “trim” stelae for transport.
Gann described the digging in Pottery Cave in a memoir. “When we first started in the floor of this cave, we did not realize its possibilities from a stratigraphic point of view, and the objects from various depths, it must be admitted, mixed iindiscriminately.”
None of the Pusilha loot is on exhibit. All of the removed relics are hidden away in storerooms with many items, particularly ceramics, still unregistered and unaccounted for in museum acquisition records. The museum has acknowledged in a Freedom of Information response that it lacks title to objects in its Pusilha collection.
The Belize repatriation request breaks new ground in the evolving field of cultural heritage return. Prior requests have sought the return of stolen objects. San Benito Poite seeks more. The village wants help to construct a visitor center to house the returned relics and develop a community program with assistance from the museum. Travel for two has been requested to allow village officials to actually see what the museum has hidden from view. A scholarship fund is also sought to allow village students to study archaeology and Maya culture to better understand and care for Pusilha’s ruins.
San Benito Poite did not get a road until 1991 and remains without electricity or internet access. Alcalde Cucul, who is spearheading efforts to protect Pusilha, feels that if the British Museum had not taken a dozen carved stelae that the village would not be so lacking in development and would already have a visitor center like Lubaantun, twenty-five miles away. The removed stelae and pottery-filled cave worked by the British Museum teams were not the only attraction. Pusilha was divided by a river and had a three-span bridge connecting the royal acropolis with the central plaza. Despite centuries of flooding, the bridge abutments are still in place and today support a pedestrian suspension bridge.
Archaeologists that have worked the city have noted the tourism potential. However, without protection Pusilha has become the most heavily looted Maya site in Belize. Village officials want to turn that around and have Pusilha become a tourist destination. The British Museum has responded it is considering the San Benito Poite request. A decision is expected in two months.
iAdventures and Discoveries in Central America, Thomas Gann, p, 202, 1929
Richardson Reports 
A good list to begin negotiations. Hang in there.
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