A HISTORIAN is concerned about the fate of an Iron Age torc from Worcester in the care of the British Museum after a spate of thefts caused an international scandal.
Paul Harding of Discover History is worried about what may have happened to a rare beaded neck torc found in what is now the city's Perdiswell Park but in the care of the museum in London.
However, there is no reason to believe the torc is among the stolen objects says heritage champion Cllr Adrian Gregson, a former mayor of Worcester.
It is now estimated about 2,000 treasures have been stolen from the British Museum although the recovery has already begun, chairman George Osborne said.
Hartwig Fischer, the museum's director, resigned over the scandal while the museum has launched an independent review. A police investigation is already underway.
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The Iron Age torc was discovered in 1840 in the park and was sent for safekeeping to the British Museum in 1931.
Mr Harding said: "It is important that old buildings and artefacts, sites, and battlefields are preserved. Future generations can, therefore, learn and see what our ancestors used or did in the past.
"Heritage crime may not be high on the list over more serious crimes, but we need to be observant, report things, and embrace what we still have.
"History is shared by us all and in some cases cannot be replaced.
"Important objects are often cared for by the British Museum even though they are not the owners."
Adrian Gregson, chair of the Joint Museums Committee and Worcester City Council’s Heritage Champion, said he was concerned about the revelations from the museum.
He said Museums Worcestershire and the Archive and Archaeology Service paid particular attention to the accessioning, recording and cataloguing of artefacts and archives which is 'fundamental to their safety, security, and preservation for future generations'.
Cllr Gregson added: "An event like this does have the up-side of highlighting just how important that detailed work is in the first place.
"The item referred to, the Perdiswell torc, does indeed belong to the BM and in fact was on loan here for display only a few years ago. It was returned to the BM in 2014. We currently have no reason to believe it is on the list of missing objects.
"This is very common – the BM has first call on all items uncovered through public and commercial archaeology which may have national or international significance.
"There is no doubt that there are other items at the BM which emanate from the county of Worcestershire which help tell the whole story of heritage."
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