'Digital archaeologists' secretly scan Elgin Marbles inside the British Museum

'Digital archaeologists' have secretly scanned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon Marbles inside the British Museum -- with the hope of creating'perfect' replicas that could one day lead to the repatriation of the originals to Greece. The researchers took the detailed 3D images by stealth after the museum refused a formal request. They used technology embedded in the latest camera phones and iPads to scan half a dozen of the sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, so the files can be used to programme a'robot sculptor' to carve replicas. Experts from the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) hope marble blocks can be created with metal chisels, in much the same way the sculptures were created by the ancient Greek architect Phidias around 447–438 BC. The marbles once formed part of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens but were stripped and shipped to Britain when Lord Elgin turned up in Greece in early 1800.