Elgin Marbles

Elgin Marbles, ancient sculpture (mostly from the Acropolis) that Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and British envoy at Constantinople (1799–1802) shipped from Athens, Greece (then a Turkish possession), to London. They were bought by the government (1816) for half the cost of their transportation and are preserved in the British Museum, London. They include a frieze from the Parthenon by Phidias and parts of the temple known as the Erechtheum.