Repatriating cultural heritage - KEY

On display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo: the tomb of Tutankhamon, and one of the most prized artefacts in the ancient world: the Rosetta Stone.

How the Rosetta Stone ended up in Britain is a tale of imperialist intrigue: the French discovered it in 1799, and when they surrendered to the British in 1801, they gave them the stone.

The reporter suggests there is an argument to be made that the stone is in very good hands in the British Museum, and that people from all over the world can see it there. The reply is simple: that's true, but it's not at home, and Egypt wants it home.

Turkey has demanded the return of antiquities, and threatened to withhold the loan of artwork to those museums until those demands are met.

Museums return pieces of art when there are grounds for their claims, or when a court forces them to. The St Louis Museum of Art is being sued for the return of an Egyptian mask.

When works of art have been taken legally, they are great ambassadors for their countries of origin.

In Greece they wonder who is authorized to divide a monument.

They display classical sculptures. The missing parts have been replaced with copies of the originals, the majority of which are in the British Museum.

It's difficult to decide how legitimate these claims are, because it isn't always clear whether something was illegally acquired.

The case of recently acquired pieces is different from that of pieces that have remained abroad for a long time, in that the latter have become part of the heritage of the countries they are currently in.

Security at the museums is also an issue. The Egyptian Museum, for example, was looted three years ago, and a human shield was the only thing that prevented a further ransacking.

It is argued that unstable governments are more likely to exploit the issue of art repatriation.

What seems to be just bitter custody battles could result in more cultural exchange. In Greece the claim is becoming an opportunity for collaboration and sending more pieces to the British Museum for temporary exhibitions.

In Dallas, they're borrowing pieces from Italy and Turkey in recognition of their return of pieces to them.