A British Army museum has called in an academic to explore the attraction’s colonial connections and reveal which of its artefacts were looted from Ethiopia.
The King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum in Lancaster is understood to house objects taken during a 19th-century campaign in Ethiopia which have a deep cultural significance for the modern nation.
Eyob Derillo, an Ethiopian specialist and author of histories of magic, has been engaged to establish which objects were seized during the campaign.
He said: “This project holds immense potential to shed new light on a historical event that has shaped the region’s past.
“By fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and academic rigour, the museum aims to contribute to cultural understanding and historical enrichment, ultimately creating a more nuanced and accurate narrative surrounding the Abyssinia Expedition.”
The museum, which is dedicated to the disbanded King’s Own regiment, has pledged to establish which of its artefacts were looted by British forces.
The project comes amid calls from Ethiopia and its supporters in the UK, including a former Archbishop of Canterbury, to return looted treasures seen as sacred by many in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Robin Ashcroft, chair of the museum’s trustees, said that the venue would aim not only to tell the stories of “the experiences of the regiment’s soldiers” but also “our adversaries, who we met on the battlefield”.
He added: “Our ambition is to now work in partnership with stakeholders from Ethiopia in bringing a fully rounded perspective and involvement in what was a truly an extraordinary event.”
The “event” was the 1868 invasion of Abyssinia by British forces, including the King’s Own Royal Regiment, to secure hostages.
The conflict resulted in the sacking of the capital of the fortress of Magdala, the death of Emperor Tewodros II, and the looting of sacred texts and revered objects associated with Abyssinian royalty.
It is understood that the museum may house a piece of shirt used to wipe blood from the body of Tewodros.
A lock of hair belonging to his son Prince Alemayehu, a defeated Abyssinian royal who became acquainted with Queen Victoria after being brought to Britain, was last year returned to Ethiopia
There have been repeated calls, including by Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, to return a set of “tabots” or sacred tablets held in the Brtish Museum where they are never studied out of respect for their significance to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. (The Telegraph)
