Category: sean-williams - Part 10

Does Jesus-Era Jerusalem Leper Disprove Turin Shroud?

The Turin Shroud appears to show the image of a crucified Jesus. The discovery of a ‘Jesus-Era’ man buried outside Jerusalem, Israel, has cast doubt on the famous Turin Shroud. The man, who is thought to have suffered from both tuberculosis and leprosy, was buried in a cave called the ‘Tomb of the Shroud’, part of the ‘Field of Blood’ (Akeldama), a 1st century AD cemetery in the Lower Hinnom Valley (Gehenna) near Jerusalem. The preservation of bodies in the region is extremely rare, thanks to high humidity levels underground.

The man’s location in the Valley, beside high priest Annas (6-15 AD) – the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest who betrayed Jesus to the Romans – has led the project’s team to conclude that he too was an important figure. The large team comprises experts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Lakehead University, Canada; University College London and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

And though the man’s remains, which had unusually not undergone a second burial, could hold the oldest evidence of leprosy in the region, it is their shroud’s relation to the famous Turin Shroud that will inevitably steal headlines all over the world.

The Turin Shroud is a mysterious cloth which many believe to have wrapped the body of Christ. It bears the image of a man struck by the wounds of crucifixion, and its efficacy has been fiercely debated for centuries. Yet this shroud, the first found in Jerusalem from Jesus’ era, is completely different, being of a much simpler textile. Assuming it is common of all burial shrouds at the time, this research casts a dark shadow over the Turin Shroud’s authenticity.

A lump of the man’s hair, which had been ritually cut, was also found inside the shroud. The unique find may prove the existence of leprosy in the area many years before thought. Previous estimates have suggested that ‘leprosy’ in the Old Testament may in fact refer to skin rashes such as psoriasis, while the disease actually flourished up to 4,000 years ago in the Indus Valley.

Earlier this month the team dated tuberculosis 3,000 years earlier than previous estimates, when samples were found at a submerged town off the coast of Haifa.

A Great Day Out of London: Ashmolean and Highclere

London is one of the world’s best cities to see ancient culture. You can ramble round Roman London, see Seti’s sarcophagus at the Soane, explore the hidden pleasures of the Petrie Museum, or get lost in the British Museum, where you’ll see amazing artefacts from all over the world – including the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone and great Mesopotamian relics.

But what about the wonders lying just outside the city limits? There are Roman villas dotted all round London, and ancient treasures are never more than a short train journey away. One of the best days out can be had heading out west, where two homes of Britain’s spirit of adventure are waiting no more than an hour away. Why not try this easy guide and see both in one go?

First Stop: London to Oxford

By rail: London Paddington to Oxford, 57 minutes, 19.90.
By car:London to Oxford, 60 miles, 1hr30mins approx.

Oxford is a city worth seeing even without its mighty Ashmolean Museum, the oldest museum in the world. Open to the public since 1683, the museum has just emerged from a 61million, two-year revamp: its elegant lines and bright corridors bring it steaming into the 21st century in style. Highlights among its huge collection include the 9th century Saxon Alfred Jewel, the Egyptian king Scorpion’s macehead and an eerie 7,000 BC shell-inlaid skull from Jericho.

After you’ve admired the Ashmolean, try one of Oxford’s excellent pubs. Many date back hundreds of years, and you can get top-notch British ale and steaming hot pub-grub while watching the doctors, statesmen and lawyers of tomorrow zipping off to their next lecture on antiquated bicycles. Don’t be tempted with that second/third pint though – there’s much more to see yet…

Second Stop: Oxford to Highclere Castle

By rail: Oxford – Reading – Newbury, 45mins approx, 10, then taxi to Highclere Castle (10mins, 5-10)
By car: Oxford to Highclere Castle, 30 miles, 40mins

Just south of the picturesque town of Newbury, famous for its historic horse-racing course, is Highclere Castle: a giant 17th century mansion sitting astride a 6,000-acre estate complete with gardens and temples. Yet this is more than a stunning British country manor: Highclere has been the seat of the Earls of Carnarvon for centuries, including George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who alongside Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.

But you can do more than simply stroll around the caslte and its grounds; symbols of the great spirit of adventure which spurred the 5th Earl towards Ancient Egypt. The castle’s current residents, George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon and his wife Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon have installed their own Egyptian exhibition in the castle’s labyrinthine cellars. As well as original artefacts and an authentic mummy from Egypt, the show stores a myriad replica King Tut relics, including his golden death mask and wall paintings.

VIDEO: Discovering King Tut – Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

If you’ve got your walking boots on, you may even want to hike up to a tiny hilltop cemetery in the estate’s distant boundary: it’s the final resting place of the 5th Earl. After that you’ll be gasping with thirst, so treat yourself to a cuppa in the castle’s tea rooms. If you want to learn more about the discovery, Fiona has written two books: Carnarvon& Carterand Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun.

By now you’ll no doubt be lagging after your long day of ancient discovery. So hop on a train or drive your way back to London for a well-earned rest. You’ll need it if you’re going to see anywhere near what the city has to offer.

Watch a video featuring Lord and Lady Carnarvon, on the discovery of Tutankhamun, here. You can also purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here at Heritage Key –

Buy Carnarvon & Carter HERE
Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE

Egypt Showdown with Berlin over Nefertiti Bust – Latest

Yesterday saw Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s Antiquities chief, travel to Berlin to discuss the future of the Bust of Nefertiti with the director of the Neues Museum, her current home (watch a slideshow about the move). Yet statements released by both parties today appear to disagree on what was to be said at the showdown.

The Bust of Nefertiti (or Nofretete in German) has long been in the crosshair of Dr Hawass’ quest to repatriate Egypt’s showcase artefacts. Yet despite her place as one of his ‘famous five’ targets, the Neues Museum insists no formal approach was to be made concerning her future: “Friederike Seyfried, director of the Egyptian Museum Berlin, will travel to Cairo for a first visit to talk with Zahi Hawass about common projects,” its statement reads.

“Borchardt did act unethically, with intent to deceive.” – Zahi Hawass

“There will be no negotiations about the restitution of Nefertiti’s bust,” the statement adds. “Documents about the division of finds of 1912 will be given to the Egyptian side.” This may have been news to Dr Hawass, however, whose blog yesterday listed little more than the arguments for Nefertiti’s return.

He writes that the bust’s discoverer, Ludwig Borchardt, deliberately mis-categorised it so that it could leave Egypt. Borchart is purported to have listed the bust as that of a princess, made in plaster – when in fact it is the limestone bust of Egypt’s most mysterious queen. “These materials confirm Egypts contention that Borchardt did act unethically, with intent to deceive,” Dr Hawass writes.

Dr Seyfried does not have the authority to permit any repatriation, but Dr Hawass is set to call a meeting of the National Committee for the Return of Stolen Artefacts later this week, when he will make a formal request for the bust’s return. Museum officials have remained coy on the artefact, insisting they would look at loan options only if no risk of damage was involved.

The Bust of Nefertiti is one of Ancient Egypt’s most enigmatic treasures. Some scholars believe her to be a fake, while others argue the famous bust is the real deal and has another, different face buried beneath her polychromed plaster facade. Dr Hawass has recently called for the return of the Rosetta Stone during a trip to London, and has repeatedly argued that the Dendera Zodiac should fly back to Egypt from Paris’ Louvre.

Egypt Lifts Cleopatra Temple Pillar From Sunken Palace at Alexandria

Alexandria Colon

A huge granite block, believed to be part of a temple belonging to Egyptian queen Cleopatra, has been lifted from the sea at Alexandria. The nine-tonne stone, quarried in Aswan some 700 miles south of the city, is expected to be transported to a new museum celebrating the sunken city.

The block is thought to have been the pillar of a temple to Isis at Cleopatra’s palace. Alexandria became a centre of commerce and education during antiquity, but was razed by a 4th century AD earthquake. The stone is one of a series of underwater discoveries made by the Greek archaeological team which has scoured the area since 1998. Sphinxes and fragments of the city’s fabled Pharos, or lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the world, are among the team’s other coups.

The act of retrieving the relic has been an unenviable mission. First divers spent weeks cleaning it of mud and scum, before dragging it across the seabed for three days. A crane then carried out the lifting process, after which it was put on a lorry for transportation to a huge freshwater tank, where it will stay until all the corrosive salt on it is removed.

VIDEO: Search for the Tomb of Cleopatra (Featuring Dr. Kathleen Martinez)

“This is one of the most important archaeological finds in Alexandria, among the 400 items recovered by the Greek archaeological team that has been engaged in underwater research since 1998,” says Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass has stressed the find’s importance: “We believe it was part of the complex surrounding Cleopatra’s palace,” he tells the Associated Press. “This is an important part of Alexandria’s history and it brings us closer to knowing more about the ancient city.”

The life of Cleopatra is slowly being brought to light by a number of high-profile digs in and around Alexandria. As well as the Greek project, Dominican explorer Kathleen Martinez hopes to find the last queen’s tomb at Taposiris Magna, a small suburb. And while Cleopatra may not cause the kind of hysterical interest as King Tut across the world, an upcoming US tour of her treasures is sure to give her profile a boom.

Discovering Tut – Carter & Carnarvon: The duo that Unlocked the Tomb of Tutankhamun

“The whole discovery of Tutankhamun needed both ingredients to make it work. It wasn’t all Howard Carter, certainly not only Carnarvon. But it needed the two of them.” George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon, ebbs deeper into the bond which drove two of archaeology’s greatest characters to the biggest discovery of all time. But how did the two men, so different in background and expertise, even forge such a strong relationship?

Lord Carnarvon – or to give him his full tongue-twisting title, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon – was an aristocratic explorer and adventurer of the highest order. Born into money and obsessed with sailing, photography, travel and motor racing, he was the pinnacle of a 19th century playboy. Yet a race too far in Germany left him badly injured, and when a doctor recommended he seek refuge from the harsh British winter, what better place to get your kicks than the ancient playground of Egypt?

“The discovery of Tutankhamun needed both ingredients to make it work.”

Howard Carter was a working-class lad who’d been taught the archaeological ropes by the meticulous Flinders Petrie. His star had already risen in Egypt, having been appointed the First Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1899. However a messy dispute with French tourists in 1905 had left him out of work – and by the time the two were introduced in 1906, Carter was making a meagre living selling paintings to tourists.

“Great-grandfather was introduced to Carter perhaps as a way of bringing more experience and expertise on the ground,” says the 8th Earl, as he rifles through Highclere Castle’s infinite archives, “in line with a very keen, enthusiastic and financially independent excavator.” The modern Lord and Lady’s affection for their illustrious forebear is palpable: not only have they built their own Egyptian exhibition in the castle’s cellars, but Lady Carnarvon has written two books on the pair and their discovery, Carnarvon& Carter(buy) and Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun (buy), both which you can purchase on Heritage Key.

Their enthusiasm is understandable – Lord Carnarvon typifies the spirit of adventure which spurred so many great discoveries. Yet the financial lengths he went to are staggering. Lady Carnarvon looks through some of the original photos from Carter and Carnarvon’s exploits together (and you can purchase Fiona Carnarvon’s book Carnarvon and Carter here) as she mentions the scale of their projects. 170 to 235 men worked on each tomb, and key players were afforded their own tents shipped straight from England – complete with food from luxury store Fortnum & Mason.

Lord Carnarvon (left) and Howard Carter (right) could not have found the Tomb of King Tutankhamun without each other's help. Lady Carnarvon chuckles at the sheer audacity of her forebear’s exploits. There was, “a tent for himself; a tent for his wife; a tent for Howard Carter; a tent for his doctor; and a tent for a dining room. It was extraordinary!” Even Carter’s famous rest house, recently converted to a museum, was shipped brick-by-brick from Bretby in Derbyshire. You can also learn more about the museum at Highclere Castle by purchasing Egypt at Highclere:The Discovery of Tutankhamun by Fiona Carnarvon.

Yet Tutankhamun, the king Carnarvon and Carter were determined to find, had still managed to elude them. Clues littered the Valley of the Kings: surely the boy-king must have been buried there somewhere? American archaeologist Theodore M. Davis had searched the area, yet Lord Carnarvon explains how the lawyer missed his squandered his turn in the spotlight. “He sent things back to America but rather thought that Tutankhamun was so unimportant that he’d been buried in a shallow grave.”

But Davis was wrong. And when in 1922 Metropolitan Museum explorer Herbert Winlock pointed out a vase with King Tut’s name on it at the Valley, the search was afoot. The men had spent almost two decades scouring Egypt for ancient treasure – suddenly they were on the verge of greatness…

HDVideo:Discovering King Tut – Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter

(Click here to read a transcript of this video)

Look out for four more special Highclere videos, coming soon!You can watch a whole host of great videos here at Heritage Key – from the perils of Venice to the lost tombs of Thebes. Catch us here or on YouTube. Keep up-to-date with everything by subscribing to our RSS feeds, or by following us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and iTunes.

You can also buy Fiona Carnarvon’s books right here:
Buy Carnarvon & CarterHERE
Buy Egypt at Highclere: The Discovery of Tutankhamun HERE

Affairs, Orgies, Homosexuality, Prostitution, Beastiality: Too Much? The Eros Exhibition

Today’s religious folk may be gearing up for the pious festive season, but it seems the ancient world just keeps on getting filthier: alongside gay Graeco-Roman pornography and rude Roman graffiti, one Athens museum has decided to celebrate all things raunchy in Ancient Greece.

Starting today and ending on the 5th April next year, “Eros: From Hesiod’s Theogony to Late Antiquity” at the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art will treat visitors to a cornucopia of ancient smut, from orgies and prostitution, to paedophilia and even beastiality. And while it may seem at loggerheads with today’s relatively constrained society, museum director Prof Nicholas Stampolidis argues most visitors will have seen it all before.

“In ancient Greece, one could see a sexual scene on a public or a private building’s crest… people were not prudes,” says Prof Stampolidis. “Today everything can be seen in magazines or on the internet, and despite this freedom there is a huge hypocrisy; an inexplicable puritanism.”

“I don’t see why children should learn about love only from magazines, from friends and not through art.”

The exhibition’s 280 artefacts, drawn from all over Europe, include everyday goods like vases, statues and plates. There’s even a replica prostitute’s kiok, complete with raunchy advertising. The show details perceptions of Eros, god of beauty, love and sex – from his 8th century BC importance to his demise as a companion of Venus during the Roman era.

Sex was very much a part of religion in Ancient Greece, with cults based around the idea of divine prostitution. Another concept at odds with today’s values is pederastic love, when a young boy (the eromenos) aged 12-17 would be taught the sexual ropes, so to speak, by an older, more experienced male adult (the erastes). Homosexality was viewed with ambiguity in the empire: it has even been suggested Alexander the Great held a long-running love affair with friend and general Hephaestion.

Famous relationships that changed the world will also be explored by the exhibition, including the affair between Antony and Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt whose tomb is currently being searched for in northern Egypt (watch the video here). Also featured is the fatal attraction between Athenian tyrant Hipparchus and young boy Harmodius.

Kids under 16 will be offered a warning, but no-one will be barred from viewing the show’s controversial contents. And Stampolidis feels it can teach modern society a thing or two about its attitudes towards carnal desires. “People will draw their conclusions on humans and Eros and see how this concept was handled in ancient times and how it’s being commercialised today.

“I don’t see why children should learn about love only from magazines, from friends and not through art.”

Abbasid Gold Coin Haul Discovered in Lost Egyptian Monastery

Polish excavators have found a clay vessel containing dozens of gold coins in Egypt. Image Credit - SCA. A Polish archaeological team has discovered a decorated clay vessel containing dozens of gold coins at a lost monastery in Egypt. The find was made in a room of the Archangel Gabriel monastery (Deir Malek Gubrail) in Naqlun, in the Fayum Oasis, by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of Warsaw University. SCA chief Zahi Hawass says the hoard’s 18 coins and 62 coin fragments are dated to Egypt’s Abbasid Period, which ruled northern regions between 750 and 1258 AD.

Team leader Wlodzimierz Godlewski says the monastic complex of Naqlun was built at the beginning of the 6th century AD. Yet the hoard, found beneath a collapsed wall, dates to around a hundred years later. A chandelier and lamp, both bronze, were also found at the site.

The monastery was lost to a huge fire between the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th century AD. Its creation is steeped in myth: according to the legend, an orphaned boy named Oor had a vision of the Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel, who told him to build a monastery in the desert.

Christian Monasteries form a little-heralded part of Egyptian culture; forgotten through its rich ancient history. Heritage Key features a video about the restoration of the beautiful Saint Anthony monastery (Deir Mar Antonios) on the Red Sea coast.

The hoard's 18 coins and 62 coin fragments are dated to Egypt's Abbasid Period. Image Credit - SCA.

It’s been a good year for coin hoards. January saw a massive 824 Roman gold coins unearthed near Wickham Market, Suffolk, England. And September saw an even bigger haul hit the headlines, when 10,000 Roman coins were found near York, England. Both discoveries were made by amateur enthusiasts wielding metal detectors; the same equipment that this year turned up the spectacular Staffordshire and Stirling Hoards – the former recently being valued at 3million-plus.

“We are not Pirates!” Zahi Hawass Anger at British Museum Rosetta Stone Loan Letter

Does Zahi Hawass want the Rosetta Stone on loan or not? It’s hard to know if you read the news often enough. Last night saw Egypt’s antiquities boss come to the British Museum in London to promote his new book A Secret Voyage. Yet among the niceties between Dr Hawass and BM director Neil MacGregor, trouble was already brewing behind the scenes.

And while Dr Hawass, who has stepped up his quest to bring Egypt’s greatest treasures home, insisted he wasn’t in London for the Rosetta Stone, he couldn’t help stepping in front of BBC cameras to stake his country’s claim for the fabled basalt slab, the key that unlocked ancient Egyptian language.

“I want the Rosetta Stone to be back, its a unique artefact,” says Dr Hawass. “Its home should not be the British Museum in London, its home should be Cairo, in Egypt.” The BBC then reported that Dr Hawass would be willing to drop his requests for permanent repatriation, as long as the BM agreed to a loan deal, possibly to coincide with the Grand Egyptian Museum’s proposed 2013 opening.

“We are not the pirates of the Caribbean. We are a civilised country.”

Yet a later appearance, this time on the BBC’s radio service, seems to contradict Dr Hawass‘ earlier statement, bringing in a letter the British Museum allegedly sent in reply to his loan request.

“When I said…I want to have it on a short-term loan, the British Museum wrote a letter to say that they need to know the security of the museum that will host.

“Even some people in the press began to say: ‘If the British Museum will give the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, maybe Egyptians will not return it back.’ We are not the pirates of the Caribbean. We are a civilised country. If I…sign a contract with the British Museum, (we) will return it. Therefore we decided not to host the Rosetta Stone, but to ask for the Rosetta Stone to come back for good to Egypt.”

This sudden about-turn is hardly likely to endear the British Museum, whose officials have repeatedly insisted the Rosetta Stone is better viewed in a global context. “The principle is exactly the same, be it the Parthenon Marbles or the Rosetta Stone, or any object in the collection,” says the museum’s PR chief Hannah Boulton. “The value of that object is because you can see it within this world collection here at the British Museum, and it can tell you a wider story about cultural achievement through the ages.”

What will be the next twist in this long-running saga? Whatever it is, you’re sure to find it here at Heritage Key. The issue of repatriation is one of culture’s hottest topics and shows no sign of fading away. Click here to join the debate at Heritage Key, and have your say on our discussion page. You can always in the box below, or email me direct.

Zahi Hawass Visits London’s British Museum (and ‘Doesn’t’ Mention Rosetta Stone)

The British Museum’s Egyptian Sculpture Gallery was packed last night, as hundreds of dignitaries flocked to see The World’s Most Famous Archaeologist (copyright all bloggers) Dr Zahi Hawass, speaking ahead of the release of his latest book A Secret Voyage. Cameras in hand, Heritage Key was there to witness Dr Hawass’ appearance, heralded more like the second coming than a book signing.

Stood in front of the museum’s colossal head of Ramesses the Great, Dr Hawass boomed out at his fans like an emissary from the pharaoh himself. But as he spoke, you could sense he was looking longingly above all our heads at the Rosetta Stone – the repatriation of which he continues to crusade.

Yet as Dr Hawass steps up his quest for the Stone, he tried to placate things with BM director Neil MacGregor in his introduction: “When I first came here, everyone thought I came to take back the Rosetta Stone! But I’m not here to talk about the Rosetta Stone…” followed by a couple of minutes talking about the Rosetta Stone.

“I had no idea archaeology would be my life. In fact, I hated archaeology.”

The basalt slab, famous for unlocking the secrets of the Egyptian language, promised to be the evening’s unsettling white elephant. But once Dr Hawass had launched into his famous acerbic rhetoric half an hour later (after an amusingly Hollywood-esque introductory video) the issue of repatriation had been left behind tales of the SCA’s latest discoveries, which we’ll bring to you later here at Heritage Key.

Secret tunnels, lost queens, mixed-up mummies and ancient dams were just a few of Dr Hawass’ topics, pock-marked with his dry humour. “I had no idea archaeology would be my life. In fact, I hated archaeology.”; “At the tomb of Tutankhamun, when Lord Carnarvon asked Howard Carter, ‘What do you see?’ he said, ‘Wonderful things’. In my excavation, when my assistant asked me, ‘What do you see?’ I smelt the sewage, I said, ‘S**t.'”

We were then treated to around five minutes listing the celebrities Dr Hawass has met recently, including of course President Barack Obama.

Yet I couldn’t help but think that seeing Dr Hawass in a suit addressing a room full of dignitaries isn’t the right place to be seeing him in action. Take a look at some of these Heritage Key videos to see Dr Hawass in full swing, attired in denim shirt, hat and chinos. After all, he is called the ‘real Indiana Jones’.

If you missed Dr Hawass’ lecture at the British Museum, but do want your ‘Inside the Egyptian Museum (with Zahi Hawass‘ book signed by both the famous archaeologist and photographer Sandro Vannini, you can still head to Waterstone’s at Harrods on the 10th of December (that’s tomorrow).

Heritage Key videos featuring Dr Zahi Hawass:

VIDEO: Dr. Zahi Hawass on the Riddle of KV63

VIDEO: The Basement of the Cairo Museum Featuring Dr Zahi Hawass

VIDEO: King Tut Revealed – The Treasure

Guardian Reader Poll: Majority Wants Rosetta Stone to Stay in England

Dr Zahi Hawass’ quest for the Rosetta Stone is gathering pace. And with the SCA chief set to visit the British Museum tonight to promote his latest book and holding a repatriation conference next March, it’s an issue which could become a lot more incendiary in the coming weeks.

Hot on the tail of Heritage Key’s own survey to decide whether the BM should return some of its highest-prized artefacts, national newspaper the Guardian has probed its own readership on the Rosetta Stone’s repatriation.

That’s not to say the Guardian’s poll is particularly far-reaching. Readers are simply given two options to the question, Should the British Museum give the Rosetta Stone back to Egypt?

‘Yes. They stole part of Egypt’s cultural heritage.’
‘No. It’s about global cultural heritage. The country of origin doesn’t matter.’

Incidentally, at time of publication the Guardian’s poll stands at 44.2% in favour of the Rosetta Stone going back; 55.8% thinking it should stay put. Though worded differently, it’s a different outcome than our own Heritage Key poll, where 54% believe the BM should be sending some of its artefacts back to the country they came from. 37% think otherwise. Yet the HK poll encompasses a world of other debated treasures at the London museum, including the Elgin Marbles and the Benin Bronzes.

There are, as with all debates, shades of grey. And when you’re talking about the history of the Rosetta Stone, there are more greys than Gordon Brown’s suit closet. There are few middle grounds, to be fair, except that of the loan option, something both sides have repeatedly refused. But there are a myriad reasons the Stone should stay in Britain, and just as many why it should be winging back from whence it came – many more than whether it was stolen or not.

There are more shades of grey than Gordon Brown’s suit closet

Let’s briefly run through the major issues (if you want a longer read try Ann’s earlier piece on the Stone, my article on Dr Hawass’ claims, or Malcolm’s feature on the ethics of repatriation). With much higher attendance rates, more people will see the Stone at the British Museum than in Cairo. If we’re talking about a global heritage item this seems a fairly convincing argument from the offset. Yet it costs more for most people to get to and to stay in London; a trip to Cairo would inevitably boost attendance figures too – though surely not enough to beat the BM.

Some still peddle the idea that the Stone is safer in Britain. This doesn’t rub with me, seeing as Egypt’s own museums are, for the most part, in excellent condition, and, while not at the cutting edge of museum design, are ably suited to holding something like the Rosetta Stone. They’ve had the golden death mask of King Tut for 80 years and they’ve managed not to blow it up, lose it or give it away, for example. And if the Grand Egyptian Museum is ever completed (it’s a big ‘if’) Egypt will have a museum to rival any on the planet.

Then there’s the issue of fragility. Some argue the Rosetta Stone is just too frail to be lugged halfway across the world, and claim it’s better to have a pristine Rosetta Stone in London than a ruined one in Cairo. This is largely an issue of science. But if experts can haul King Tut’s treasures across the US, why would there be a problem moving a giant slab of solid stone?

There are also wider problems surrounding the link between repatriation and archaeology, but you can read my earlier article for that can of worms. For now the Rosetta Stone remains one of the hottest topics in Egyptology. And with Dr Hawass visiting the British Museum tonight, one guesses it’s an issue that won’t lie down in a hurry. To BM or not to BM; that is the question.

What’s your opinion on this issue?Tell us what you think the British Museum should do below.