A new documentary proves "beyond any shadow of a doubt" that the Elgin Marbles were stolen, according to its director.

David Wilkinson claims The Marbles settles one of the most divisive debates in cultural heritage: whether 19th-century diplomat Lord Elgin legally acquired the Parthenon Sculptures, better known as the Elgin Marbles.

The film revisits how the sculptures were removed from the Parthenon in Athens while Greece was under Ottoman rule - and ended up in London.

It argues that Lord Elgin did not legally acquire the artefacts - and instead, it amounts to "the greatest heist in art history".

Image: Reuters file pic

Actor Brian Cox, historian Dominic Selwood and solicitor Mark Stephens are among those who appear in the documentary.

The British government bought the sculpture

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