Negotiations about Britain returning the Elgin Marbles are 'effectively over', it is understood.

The ancient sculptures were brought to the UK in the early 19th century from Greece by Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin, while the country was under Ottoman rule.

Talks were reopened with the British Museum in 2021 amid efforts to repatriate the marbles – with Greece claiming they are their rightful owner and want them returned permanently.

However, talks are now said to have ground to a halt amid frustrations in Greece about a lack of progress.

It comes despite former chancellor and British Museum chairman George Osborne insisting there was a 'deal to be done'.

The museum has claimed it can only lend the marbles because it is barred by law from giving away objects.

Any such deal would require Greece to accept the museum is the legal owner of the Parthenon artworks – despite the government maintaining they were stolen.

A source has now said there are no talks taking place and Athens has signalled discussions are unlikely to resume – though channels of communication have been kept open, the Telegraph reports.

Options discussed previously included Greece sending a rotating selection of ancient artefacts to the UK to guarantee the eventual return of the marbles.

The treasures were removed by Lord Elgin during a visit to the Parthenon along with marble plaques and the frieze that ornamented the temple to Athena.

He subsequently sold them to the British government in 1816.

News of a breakdown in communication comes as the Bayeux Tapestry – believed to have been embroidered by nuns in England in the 11th century – arrived in London in July following a complicated journey to leave France for the first time in more than 900 years.

The British Museum smashed its sales record after it raked in £2.5million in one day as tickets went on sale to see the historic 230ft-long cloth.

Around 7.5 million people are expected to view the tapestry. Ticket prices range from £25 to £33 and it will be laid flat for the first time in almost 200 years amid fears over possible damage if hung from a display rail.

The tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne and become the first Norman king of England.

While the exact origins of the tapestry are obscure, it is believed to have been the work of English embroiderers.

The tapestry had been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in the Normandy region of France since 1983.

France confirmed that the museum could borrow the tapestry last July during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Britain as the guest of King Charles.

The loan of such a cultural treasure is being billed as a sign of closer ties between France and Britain one decade after the discord caused by the 2016 Brexit vote.

In return, French museums will host some British treasures, including the Sutton Hoo collection of helmets, shields and other metal artwork dating back to the seventh century in Anglo-Saxon England.

George Osborne, chairman of trustees at the museum, described the tapestry in February as a 'defining piece of our nation's history and a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience', adding that its display will be an 'extraordinary moment for the country'.

Polling carried out for the museum earlier this year revealed more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of the public believe that '1066 is an important part of British history and people should learn more about it'.

Meanwhile, four out of five (82 per cent) were supportive of school trips and encouraging of visits to the museum to see the tapestry while it is in the UK.