Ittai Gradel, a scholar turned antiquities dealer, played a pivotal role in exposing a major theft scandal at the British Museum, a discovery that led to high-profile resignations and ongoing investigations. Gradel, who died of cancer at the age of 61, unearthed evidence of the disappearance of approximately 2,000 objects including ancient goldwork, gems, and glassware from the museum’s collections.

Originally an academic, Gradel earned a doctorate specializing in Roman religion and held a university chair before leaving his post at the University of Reading in 2008. He returned to Denmark, shifting his focus from academia to dealing in antiquities, particularly Graeco-Roman engraved gems. It was during these dealings that Gradel began to suspect that several items he encountered may have been illicitly removed from the British Museum.

Signs of potential theft emerged over several years. By 2010, Gradel had encountered a vendor in England who repeatedly offered Graeco-Roman gems purportedly inherited from a grandfather, yet the seller’s identity and provenance claims were increasingly dubious. Attempts to verify the vendor’s existence failed, and one contact claim ended with a message stating the vendor had died. In 2016 and again in 2020, pieces matching descriptions and images from a 1926 British Museum catalogue appeared for sale online, linked back to the same questionable source. Further inquiry revealed that payments for some of these items were connected to a British Museum curator named Peter Higgs.

Gradel reported his suspicions to the British Museum in 2021 but was initially met with denial, with the museum maintaining that nothing was missing. Despite this, Higgs was promoted to acting head of the Department of Greece and Rome later that year. Growing frustrated, Gradel escalated his concerns, contacting the museum’s trustees and several officials. His persistence led to the involvement of George Osborne, the museum's chair from late 2022, who took the allegations seriously.

In mid-2023, the scandal culminated in the dismissal of Peter Higgs, who denies wrongdoing, alongside the resignation of the museum’s director, Hartwig Fischer, and deputy director Jonathan Williams stepping down. The museum has since filed a civil case against Higgs and continues to investigate the full extent of the losses.

The thefts were facilitated in part by poor record-keeping, prompting the British Museum to launch a five-year plan to document its collection of some eight million objects online. Of the approximately 1,500 identified missing or stolen items, about 650 have been recovered so far.

Gradel’s efforts received notable public attention through a BBC Radio Four series and a BBC Two documentary produced in 2024. Apollo magazine named him its personality of the year for his role in uncovering the thefts.

Born in Haifa, Israel, to a British father and Danish mother, Gradel was raised in Denmark and held academic positions in both Denmark and the UK. Colleagues described him as both eccentric and tenacious, traits he carried into his later career. Shortly before his death, the British Museum recognized Gradel’s contribution with a medal and a message from current director Nicholas Cullinan, acknowledging his expertise and determination to set the record straight.

Gradel is survived by his wife, Hanne Lavér Hansen, and his elder brother, Kim.