The marbles are currently held in the collection of the British Museum. After gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire, Greece began major projects for the restoration of the country's monuments, and has expressed its disapproval of Elgin's actions to remove the marbles from the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which is regarded as one of the world's greatest cultural monuments, disputes the subsequent purchase of the marbles by the British Government and urges the return of the marbles to Greece.