Beginning in 1801, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, the Earl of Elgin, began a project to document the sculptures located at the Parthenon in Athens.
He then took it one step further and took half of the sculptures at the Parthenon and shipped them back to England.
It has been a source of controversy and diplomatic conflict ever since.
Learn more about the Elgin Marbles on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.