Museum visitors around the world have discovered a new pastime: defiling priceless artifacts. The craze has become so widespread that experts are now calling it a favorite pastime of many museum-goers. It has sparked significant controversy as it leads to a lack of respect for cultural heritage.
One group of tourists was caught red-handed by museum security personnel as they used their hands to touch ancient paintings. A visitor said, "It's exhilarating to feel the texture of the paint and the canvas on my fingertips."
Another group was discovered trying to touch the famous "Venus de Milo" statue in the Louvre. According to eyewitnesses, the group attempted to lay their hands all over the statue, saying that they wanted to "feel the curves of the sculpture with their fingers."
It is not only statues and paintings - defiling ancient ruins has also become popular. A group of visitors to the Athenian citadel of Acropolis was caught attempting to scratch their names on the Parthenon's marble columns. They had even brought sharpies and other marker pens to leave their mark on the historic site.
"The lack of respect for cultural heritage is appalling," said one expert. "Museum staff and security teams are dedicated to upholding the integrity of historic sites and artifacts, but the rise in these incidents is alarming."
Some of the visitors have been posting their triumphs and achievements of defiling historical artifacts on social media, which has fueled the trend even further. Pictures of people taking selfies while pretending to touch historical artifacts have become commonplace.
Museum staff and curators, however, are not taking any of this lying down. Security personnel have been beefed up, and some artifacts are now being kept under lock and key to protect them from defilement.
Experts say that this kind of behavior stems from visitors' belief that they have the right to touch and manipulate the artifacts since they paid for the museum's entrance fee. It's an alarming attitude that could lead to further disrespect for cultural heritage.
It's high time that visitors to historical sites and art galleries start respecting the exhibits as they would their own personal property. The trend of defiling artifacts and ruins must come to a stop before it's too late. Hopefully, museum authorities will implement stricter security measures to prevent any more damage from being done.
