British sculptor and art historian Nigel Konstam has published a booklet arguing that many of the Parthenon Sculptures stolen from Greece by the 7th Earl of Elgin in the 1800s are Roman reproductions of the Greek originals that in his words “had been eroded by acid rain caused by chimney effluent.”
The theory Kostam says is based on a discovery of a chimney near the Parthenon used by the great 5th-century sculptor Phidias to cast his giant bronzes.
“My case is strong because the evidence to support my view is so simple and compelling and obvious, even to the layman, who can see the differences for himself,' Konstam told British media.
He argues that the Roman statues were carved differently and look much cleaner than the Greek ones.
According to reports, the British Museum's senior curator Ian Jenkins has shown interest in the theory, “This is an interesting set of, at least to me, new ideas,” Jenkins wrote in a letter to Konstam.