Denmark and Greenland have agreed that the iron meteorite Agpalilik will be returned to Greenland after nearly 60 years on display in Copenhagen.
The agreement was reached at a meeting between Greenland’s minister for education, culture, sport and church, Nivi Olsen, and Denmark’s minister for education and digitalisation, Christina Egelund (M). DR reports that Olsen said on Monday that Agpalilik belongs in Greenland. She welcomed the political agreement that the meteorite should go home.
Agpalilik is part of the Kap York meteorite, which struck northwestern Greenland around 10,000 years ago. The fragment was found in 1973 and later shipped to Denmark, arriving in Copenhagen harbor. It has stood in the forecourt of the former geological museum, today part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
According to TV 2 and Videnskab.dk, the meteorite weighs several tons. B.T. reported on September 7 that the political agreement followed the ministers’ meeting. The object has been exhibited in Denmark for close to six decades.
A long-standing Greenlandic demand
The debate was restarted in the spring, when several Greenlandic politicians demanded the meteorite’s swift return in Politiken. One argument was that the iron meteorites had major cultural significance for the population, which used the metal to make hunting tools.
As reported by Politiken, Aki-Matilda Høegh-Dam of Naleraq said it was unacceptable that Greenlanders had to travel to Denmark and visit a museum to see it. She said the meteorite should come home as quickly as possible. She has also repeatedly described the meteorite as stolen.
Qarsoq Høegh-Dam, a member of the Danish parliament for Naleraq, told DR’s P1 Morgen that the return matters greatly. Per his comments, Greenlanders will now be able to know and touch their own history. The relationship between Greenland and Denmark has repeatedly raised questions about objects of Greenlandic origin held in Danish collections.
He said the handover shows the Danish government is open to returning items that originate in Greenland. According to him, the government has signaled willingness to return any object of Greenlandic origin if Greenland asks for it. He described the move as opening Pandora’s box.
Høegh-Dam said he expects Greenlanders to request more objects back. He called the decision a good start, and said it is also good for Denmark, because it shows the outside world that the country is willing to act. Agpalilik has been one of the best known Greenlandic items in Copenhagen’s museums.
Neither government has published a date for the transport. DR reports that the political agreement covers the return itself.
