Tag: Rosetta Stone

King Tut Inc – Treasures Worth More Outside of Egypt

According to figures quoted at an archaeological conference last week by Dr Zahi Hawass, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has generated more revenue in recent years from sending treasures of Tutankhamun abroad than it has from collections in the countrys own museums. That includes the Howard Carter collection at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which features key pieces from King Tuts tomb such as the Golden Death Mask (some amazing picture of which you can view here) and coffins deemed too fragile or unwieldy to travel outwith the country.

The SCA has made over $100 million from its pair of official touring exhibitions of King Tut which have criss-crossed North America since 2005. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs has visited Dallas and San Francisco on its travels and is currently in the middle of a long run at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York (even though Hawass insists it deserved the Met), while Tutankhamun the Golden King and the Great Pharaohs has been to Atlanta, Indianapolis and Ontario and is at present resident at Denver Art Museum.

At the conference Egypt between past, present and future, organised by the Al-Samra Institution for Environment and Development, SCA secretary general Hawass quoted the total revenue taken in the same period by the SCA both from museums inside the country and antiquities traveling abroad as being one billion Egyptian pounds about $176 million. That means the income from other touring exhibitions and Egyptian museums combined was worth just over $76 million a huge sum, but still $24 million less than the amount made by Tut on his travels.

It underscores the overwhelming success of Dr Hawass and the SCAs policy of using touring exhibitions to bankroll their activities back in Egypt.

Yet, doesnt the increasingly dramatic skew towards externally generated revenue also suggest that the SCAs business activities abroad are beginning to eclipse their responsibilities closer to home even though recent industry analysis shows that tourism in Egypt is bucking global trends and growing at a dramatic rate? Has Dr Hawass turned the SCA into a purely profited-driven operation, which has lost sight of its obligation to ensure its treasures are accessible to the largest possible number of people, both in Egypt and around the world, and not just the highest bidder?

Shouldnt the SCA focus on amassing all of their treasures at home, and bringing as many of these new tourists as possible into Egypts museums?

Brand Tut and Egypt Inc.

Hawass makes no bones of his desire to wring every available penny out of Brand Tut and Egypt Inc. In reference to the boy kings earliest foreign adventures the famous exhibitions in Britain and America in the 1970s, which the Egyptian authorities had to fund out of their own pocket the SCA supremo earlier this year told Businessweek: If I had managed the old exhibits, Egypt would be rolling in money.

Certainly, profits have skyrocketed since Hawass took charge of the SCA in 2002, and continue to rise. In a five year period between 2003 and 2008, the SCA earned almost $350 million from a total of 23 different exhibitions sent abroad around $70 million a year. With Tuts profit-margin ever increasing, that figure could double over the next five years.

The fee levied for each King Tut exhibition is a whopping $10 million for six months, with several million dollars more being earned by the SCA in sponsorship and merchandising (the SCA retains exclusive rights to sell replicas of its artefacts, for example).

The result has been the creation, in effect, of a hierarchy of King Tut haves and have nots. The Australian Museum in Sydney recently complained that they nor any other Australian institution for that matter could not afford such price tag, despite Hawass professing to being eager to see Tut travel down under. It explains why Tut hardly has a wide variety of stamps on his passport. Greater Los Angeles has almost 20 million people within 1.5 hours drive of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs debuted in 2005. Thats nearly as much as as Australias entire population combined.

But for a spell at the O2 Arena in London between November 2007 and August 2008, and at the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna from March and September 2008, the King Tut travelling collection has spent almost all of its time in North America since 2005. Predominantly its been in the USA. The worlds largest economy has established something of a monopoly over the Tutankhamun roadshow.

Should Egypt be Sending its Treasures Abroad at All?

Many voices argue that the SCA shouldnt be sending its treasures abroad at all, complaining that it puts irreplaceable antiquities at unnecessary risk of damage, loss or theft.

The SCA counter by insisting that the strictest standards of care and security are always met, and that all artefacts are insured to the hilt. The money raised from commercial activities in foreign countries, they say, is essential to fund the care of monuments and museums in Egypt, which are massively expensive. The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, currently under construction and due to open in 2012 or 2013, is the main project currently being largely funded with King Tuts earnings abroad. Its price-tag currently stands at an estimated $550 million.

Further, the SCA argue that Tut tours act as important ambassadors for Egypt, sparking interest in the country and its wealth of ancient heritage, giving the tourist industry which generates around 11% of GDP extra impetus. The host countries too stand to reap considerable returns from the exhibitions.

Theres no denying that the Egyptian tourist industry is rude health at present figures released this week show tourism revenues defied global trends and reached $5.58 billion in the first half of 2010, compared to $4.6 billion in the same period last year. Industry analysts predict revenues to reach $12.4 billion by the end of the fiscal year, up on $10.8 billion in 2009.

Buy Related Books

The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life by Bettany Hughes

Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs (Hardcover) by Zahi Hawass, Sandro Vannini

King Tutankhamun: The Treasures of the Tomb by Zahi Hawass & Sandro Vannini by Zahi Hawass, Sandro Vannini

Yet, shouldnt the fact that the profits from Tut on tour are now so outstripping revenue from Egypts museum suggest to the SCA that their focus should be on amassing all of their treasures at home, and bringing as many of these new tourists as possible who include holidaymakers driven out of the eurozone by high prices, and increasing numbers of Russian visitors into Egypts museums?

Hawass has insisted on several occasions in the past that once the two King Tut exhibitions currently running in the US come to an end in 2011, the boy kings treasures will never leave Egypt again. But the SCA chief has since contradicted himself by announcing that Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs will appear in Seattle between May 2012 and January 2013. He also hasn’t given up hope on Tut visiting Australia. I want to see King Tut go to Australia, he told the Sydney Morning Herald last December. Nothing like this has ever been to Australia before, and it will be many, many years before the opportunity will come again.

Savings and Loans

The debate over touring exhibitions raises questions about the real motivation behind Hawass and the SCAs zeal for artefact repatriation. The Rosetta Stone, the Bust of Nefertiti and the Dendera Zodiac are among a list of Egyptian antiquities in the possession of foreign museums that Hawass has firmly in his sights he wants them back, and has vowed to make life miserable for anyone who keeps them. He often offers a moral argument for why the artefacts should be repatriated theyre Egyptian treasures, taken under colonial-era conditions, and they should be returned to their country of origin.

Yet, doesnt the fact that so many of Tuts treasures have been abroad for over five years now suggest that Hawass has no moral qualms about precious Egyptian treasures residing abroad for long periods of time, as long as its the SCA and Egypt that are profiting from them? If the Egyptians were successful in getting the Rosetta Stone or Bust of Nefertiti back, are we to believe that they would really keep them in Egyptian museums on a permanent basis when they could clearly reap spectacular profits from sending them out on loan to the US?

When the Grand Egyptian Museum is completed, and Egypt has a brand new focal point for its collections not to mention all the exhibition space necessary for displaying them can we expect to see the full panoply of Tutankhamun treasures and all other key pieces from the land of the pharaohs currently in the SCAs possession assembled permanently in one place? Judging by the huge figures quoted by Hawass, that seems unlikely.

If you can’t wait for the treasures of Tutankhamun to be prized away from America’s greedy grasp, you can check them out now, for free, in Heritage Key’s King Tut Virtual!

How Many Ancient Artefacts Are on Display at the British Museum?

How many ancient artefacts are on show at the British Museum? Sounds like an easy question: after all, surely it’s just a case of finding the right person and writing down a figure, right? I mean, the British Museum is the second most visited museum on the planet behind the Louvre, and well over half the Louvre’s collection is non-ancient (for an explanation of what ‘ancient’ actually is check out Jon’s blog here) – someone must know how much stuff is on show. For the short story, the numbers and how I came to my conclusions click here. If not read on and suffer with me.

First port of call: the museum’s press office, who could only tell me the museum holds a total of around 6,000,000 artefacts. Around? It’s not a great omen if the press office doesn’t even know its own total collection, let alone how much of that has made it from storage into display cases. I was whisked off to another department:”We have around six million items in total, sir, but I’m not sure of the number on display – maybe one of our guidebooks has what you’re after.”

Sounds like an easy question, right? Wrong.

No other web source had the answer, unsurprisingly, so it was off to the BM itself, on a balmy summer’s afternoon, to find out for myself just what its magic number was. My first port of call was the information desk. By definition that was where I should be looking, right? Again, no. I had a very nice flick through some of the museum’s guidebooks, and a perfectly pleasant conversation, but no number. So armed with nothing but a phone, notepad and a C in GCSE Maths I set off in search of the British Museum’s magic number (see the British Museum’s top ten treaures here).

I quick foray into the Egyptian Gallery later I’d noted 160 Egyptian artefacts, alongside 100 Near Eastern pieces (I counted the Assyrian Lion Hunt as one item). There were even fewer in the nearby Greek marbles room – just thirty with the controversial Elgin Marbles counted as one. But these were three of what I’ve cleverly dubbed the BM’s ‘big’ rooms, the showcase bits with the headline treasures like the aforementioned marbles and the Rosetta Stone. On my reckoning there are eight of these, counting the famously beautiful stair wells.

That leaves another 87 rooms unaccounted for 85 when you consider that two of the rooms, ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Life and Death’ are non-ancient. So I headed up to some of the ‘small’ rooms to see what they would add to the number. ‘Greeks in Italy’: 740 (roughly, mind I couldn’t count each and every item individually). ‘Cyprus’: 400; ‘Tomb of Nebamun’: 100 and the upstairs Egyptian galleries a whopping 1,500 between the four of them. Based on that information, and by checking how large or small the rooms are, I finally found my (rough) answer: 43,000.

How did I get 43,000? I flattened out each ‘big’ room’s items at 100, and multiplied by six. I then added this figure to that of the smaller rooms, which I averaged at 500 items per room. I then rounded down ever-so-slightly, though I think this number is fairly accurate. Even if I’m a fair distance out my number betrays a massive discrepancy between the museum’s six million artefacts in total and what’s on show: less than one per cent. I think we’d all like to explore the British Museum’s vast archives, but judging by this you’d be dead before you made it halfway.

Heritage Key is completing a list of the world’s greatest museums, taking in visitor numbers, collections and great treasures. We’ll also have an amazing map of the top museums for you to enjoy!

Nefertiti Bust Should Stay in Berlin (No Matter What Hawass Says)

The bust of Nefertiti, gyptisches Museum Berlin

This week Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass plans to make a formal request for the return of the Bust of Nefertiti from Berlin. Neues Museum officials have already dismissed his continued attacks on the legality of the bust’s ownership, and are all but certain not to let go of their most prized asset. Hawass still has the backing of millions worldwide. But Nefertiti should stay where she is, and his quest to repatriate Egypt’s ancient relics is misguided, dangerous even, to Egypt’s cultural heritage.

Dr Hawass has been planning the campaign for quite some time: in August last year he told Heritage Key he would “reveal (the evidence for Nefertiti’s return) in October (09) when I write the letter to the Berlin Museum for the return of the piece, because it left Egypt illegally.” The evidence can’t be too compelling for him to have postponed the project for nearly eight months. “We are no longer discussing whether to do this, but only how to formulate this demand,” he added to a German press agency recently.

Prussian Cultural Heritage, which safeguards the Neues among other high-profile museums, was having none of it. A request from Egypt to return (Nefertiti) has not reached us yet, a spokesman says. Everything has been said on this subject, adds Germany’s Ministry of Culture. “Nefertiti is accepted, not assimilated. She keeps her separateness and her uniqueness – yet she belongs here,” says top German Egyptologist Dietrich Wildung. It seems Hawass’ claim will not so much fall flat as barely make it onto two feet at all.

Borchardt may have played a cool hand, but Nefertiti should go nowhere

Hawass and Egypt have argued for decades that the Bust was stolen by archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in 1913. It’s true to say Borchardt’s intentions weren’t completely noble when he ‘accidentally’ noted the Bust was made from gypsum, when in fact it is fashioned from limestone and stucco, and photographed it in a poor light. But Germany claims Egyptian officials had the chance to check all the items Borchardt took back to Europe, an offer they declined. Nefertiti was at the top of the exchange list,says the German Oriental Society, the inspector could have looked at everything closely at the time. It’s not admissible to complain about the deal reached at the time.

Hawass should drop the issue: Nefertiti is going nowhere. There’s no doubting Hawass’ good intentions: he feels these items are stolen and he wants them for the Egyptian people. He sees Nefertiti as a hostage, trapped thousands of miles from home. But she’s one of Egypt’s greatest ambassadors, and is doing more good from Berlin than she could ever do from Cairo.

Over half a million people see the Bust each year, many of whom aren’t necessarily interested in ancient Egypt. It’s these people who flock from all over the world to Egypt on holiday, having seen its ancient treasures in a museum back home. For a country whose tourism industry is worth a reported $12.5 billion (8.7 billion) it would be unwise to take blockbuster pieces like Nefertiti and the Rosetta Stone back to Egypt, when they’re creating such a strong global brand.

Hawass, ironically, proves this point perfectly every time he globetrots to another western nation, extolling the virtues of ancient Egypt before another giant exhibition. Would they still be interested in him if they couldn’t get a bite of Egypt on their doorstep? With his grizzled looks and Indiana Jones wardrobe, Dr Hawass knows how to play the underdog battling colonial tyrannies. But this isn’t Repatriation: The Movie, and you can only complain so much when you’re knocking back vol-au-vents with the enemy.

Switzerland returns Pharaoh Akhenaton’s toe to Egypt

Dr Zahi Hawass sat down with the Swiss and agreed a deal for repatriation of Egyptian artefacts. Image Credit - SCA. Switzerland today signed an agreement for the repatriation of all illegally-obtained antiquities of Egyptian origin currently within their borders, according to a press release circulated by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). It represents a major victory for Egypt in its battle against global artefact theft, since many stolen treasures from Egypt are smuggled via Switzerland.

The agreement is the latest of 16 such treaties Egypt has reached with foreign nations since 2002. The SCA press release adds that Secretary General of the SCA Zahi Hawass is currently in the process now of forming agreements with other countries.

The deal comes in the wake of a two-day international conference in Cairo last week, attended by 20 countries, at which Hawass led a call for states around the world seeking the repatriation of antiquities to unite in their efforts.

Over the past few years, hundreds of Egyptian objects have been repatriated from Switzerland to Egypt. They include the eye of Amenhotep III which was stolen from a statue of the pharaoh at Luxor in 1972 then later sold to the Art Museum of Basel by a German dealer and a variety of artefacts that entered the country via Tarek El-Sweissi, the former head of the National Democratic Party for the Giza area, who in 2003 was charged with heading a multi-million dollar antiquities smuggling ring.

Toe be or not toe be? Dr Zahi Hawass agrees a deal with the Swiss. Image Credit - SCA. Zahi Hawass has made it his mission since beginning his tenure as chief of the SCA in 2002 to recover Egyptian artefacts from abroad. So far he has helped Egypt reclaim some 31,000 relics from other countries. Hawass continues to pursue high profile antiquities from major foreign museums, including the Rosetta Stone, which is held by the British Museum (see our recent Bloggers Challenge for some opinions on this contentious subject), and the Bust of Nefertiti, which is currently on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin.

During the signing agreement with the Swiss, Frank Rhli of the University of Zurich the same anatomy expert who last year mummified a human leg using the same salt drying process applied by the ancient Egyptians returned the toe of Akhenaten to the Egyptians, in what was presumably a symbolic gesture (seems an otherwise inappropriate moment to be handing over a centuries-old body part). The 3,300-year-old digit belongs to the skeleton discovered in KV55, which according to a recent study on King Tut‘s DNA, is the young pharaoh’s biological father, most likely the ‘heretic pharaoh’ Akhenaten. The toe is to be displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

New Species of Human Ancestor Discovered in Africa is “Rosetta Stone” of Genus Homo

Archaeologists in South Africa have discovered a previously unknown species of human ancestor in the form of the 1.9 million-year-old partial skeletons of an adult female and a young male hidden deep in an underground cave outside Johannesburg.

Theyre thought to represent a key period of evolutionary transition between ape and man. The find is believed to be so important that the lead scientist behind their research has described the species dubbed Australopithecus sediba as potentially being the Rosetta Stone that unlocks our understanding of the genus Homo.

The find comes hot on the heels of the discovery of the remains of a 40,000-year-old human finger in Siberia, thought to belong to another previously unknown ancestor of Homo sapiens. The find suggests an undocumented species of man that lived alongside Neanderthals and early modern humans in parts of Asia as recently as 30,000 years ago.

Its represents the first new human ancestor identified since the discovery of Homo floresiensis, the strange hobbits who are thought to have inhabited the Indonesian island of Flores until 13,000 years ago.

Climbing Down From the Evolutionary Tree

Lee Berger, a palaeontologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, is the expert currently working hard to explain the story of Australopithecus sediba, which is represented by a pair of unlucky souls possibly mother and son who met their fate by falling together through a fissure in ground, before being carried a few metres by mud or water into a subterranean pool where they were gradually encased in rock.

Theyre believed to originate from the very foot of the human family tree, and are therefore thought to be of enormous importance to the study of mans evolution from primates.

These fossils give us an extraordinarily detailed look into a new chapter of human evolution, Berger told The Guardian, and provide a window into a critical period when hominids made the committed change from dependency on life in the trees to life on the ground. Sediba may very well be the Rosetta stone that unlocks our understanding of the genus Homo.

Some experts have voiced skepticism about the importance of Australopithecus sediba, however, because it shares such prominent anatomical features with both early humans from the genus Homo (long legs and a pelvis well adapted to walking upright), and their ancient predecessors the Australopithecines or southern apes (long arms like orang-utans).

The transition to Homo continues to be almost totally confusing, Donald Johanson of Arizona State University in Tempe an opponent of Bergers theory told Science magazine. Its Homo, he concluded.

The debate promises to continue.

DNA Evidence Points Finger in Direction of New Human Species

There was nothing so immediately dramatic about the remains found in Siberia specifically Denisova cave in the Altai mountains, a range that straddles Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan. The finger, which may have belonged to a young child and was recovered from a layer of rock in the cave dated to between 48,000 and 30,000 years ago is tiny, and offers no visible hint of unusual origins.

It was genetic testing that yielded results that left its researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany stunned. There was no match with the DNA profile of either Neanderthals or early modern humans. It is the first time a new type of human has been identified purely from DNA analysis.

It really looked like something I had never seen before. It was a sequence which is similar in some ways to humans, but still quite distinct.

It really looked like something I had never seen before, the Max Planck Institutes Johannes Krause told The Guardian. It was a sequence which is similar in some ways to humans, but still quite distinct.

Project leader Svante Pbo could hardly believe it when Krause called him to reveal the results of the test. It was absolutely amazing, I didnt believe him, Pbo said. I thought he was pulling my leg.

Krause and co are now concentrating on DNA from the nuclei of cells in the finger in a bid to figure out where the species fits into the human family tree, and also if it interbred at all with Neanderthals and modern humans.

The Mysterious Adventures of MacMummy – Mummies for the Return of the Rosetta Stone

Help! In just twenty-four hours, my mummy has developed a will of his own and became politically active. MacMummy refuses to open his coffin until the Rosetta Stone is returned to Egypt, and is even rallying other mummies to join in on the protest and urging them to become a member of ‘Mummies for the Return of the Rosetta Stone’. I’m not quite sure if it is a blessing to have the most enterprising mummy ever, as he’s now… on strike.

How did Ilet it get so far out of hand? We were admiring the pictures of the massive Anubis that floated into New York, when MacMummy started whining. “Why am I so small and futile? Why do all those kids want to see him, rather than play with me?” I patiently explained that the Anubis in question is a mere replica, and that all those people are so excited about the treasures of King Tut coming to the Big Apple. My fine mummy was particularly fascinated by the exhibit ‘Tutankhamun’s Funeral’, which he demanded we’d visit. After all, he said, “King Tut is a distant relative of mine.” I truly love this teensy embalmed guy, but New York?!

Yesterday, only minutes after MacMummy’s first post went up, there was a power outage in the office, which lead me to believe he might have some tricks up his wrappings after all. I must urgently learn how to avoid the curse of the mummy. Luckily, we have the perfect video for that. In the mean time, to avoid another small-scale curse, and more data loss, I told a tiny, white lie. British Airways personnel are on strike, and rowing across the ocean in his little sarcophagus, there would be no way he would reach the United States before the exhibition ends. But no need to worry, the Rosetta Stone is perfect happy in London. Voila, case solved. Or so you’d think… .

Until the Rosetta Stone is returned to Egypt, we hereby refuse to sign any model releases.

MacMummy headed to our directory of ancient world sites and artefacts, and quickly found the Rosetta Stone. As well as Malcolm’s call for opinions on the return of the Rosetta Stone. I’m not entirely sure what happened after that, and in which order. He must have hi-jacked my computer, as suddenly, ‘Mummy Manifestos’ were exiting the printer by the dozens.

I did try to talk some sense into his grey mass – if not least to explain to him that big mummies do not read English, and that the only one who communicates in something besides hieroglyphs speaks French – but to no avail. By now, I’m quite convinced MacMummy must have no brain at all, as he simply refused to open his sarcophagus.

I fear that this has got quite out of control, and it could mean the collapse of the entire Egyptomania industry if he manages to translate his declaration so that more ancient Egyptian mummified corpses understand his call to (non)action. The manifesto he is spreading reads as follows.

Until the Rosetta Stone is returned to Egypt, we hereby refuse to…

.. come out of our sarcophagi
.. make mummy-movies
.. sign medical release forms
.. star on Discovery Channel
.. reproduce
.. laugh at toilet-paper jokes
.. tell whats hidden under the Sphinx
.. lift the curse

Luckily, as far as I know, no other mummies have joined this ridiculous ‘Mummies for the Return of the Rosetta Stone’ protest group yet, and it does seem like MacMummy is willing to negotiate. Minutes ago, he slipped a note under the lid of his coffin that ordered me to submit his protest to the blog challenge. He’d then consider settling for the multilingual rock to go on loan to Egypt, but only if we let him win the Thames &Hudson books. The recent power cut has me disinclined to inform him artefacts owned by Heritage Key staff can’t win any Ancient World in London prizes, just points.

On the bright side, after a good tip from Maggie about a comparable example in a private collection in Germany, I’m well on my way to dating MacMummy, and maybe even finding him some mummy-friends to play with. Of course, that is, if I manage to talk him into coming out of the ~~closet~~ coffin. Maybe you have some great arguments why the Rosetta Stone should stay in Britain? Urgently submit them to the blog challenge about the repatriation of the Rosetta Stone, win a Thames &Hudson book and most importantly… help me get that bloody mummy to unlock his sarcophagus. Your assistance in getting this out-of-control and totally disobedient artefact back in line (and out of its casket) will be much appreciated!

Why some of King Tut’s Treasures should be in the British Museum

When I’m strolling through the British Museum’s Egyptian Sculpture Gallery taking in its ancient statues, stelae and scriptures, it’s hard not to think something’s missing. For among its rows of exotic artefacts, nothing on display relates to Egypt’s most famous king in modern times, Tutankhamun. And I think Britain deserves to have kept hold of at least some of the ancient world’s greatest pieces.

Firstly I think I need to set the record straight: I’m not some postmodern British colonialist, sipping on Pimm’s while the servants polish my Blunderbus. Tutankhamun’s discovery was made by an Englishman, funded by an Englishman and exclusively reported by the British press back in 1922. The BM historically nabbed a lion’s share of treasures from adventurers like Layard and Woolley – so why couldn’t Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon bring Tut’s treasures home?

The answer, as ever, is politics. Lord Carnarvon, ever the soothing presence between an increasingly capricious Carter and the nationalist Egyptian government, died suddenly aged 56 in 1923, the victim of an infected mosquito bite. Carter continued squabbling with the Egyptians, refusing their media outlets access to the tomb, and even storming off and closing it in early 1924.

I’m not some postmodern British colonialist, sipping on Pimm’s while the servants polish my Blunderbus.

The latter indiscretion was to prove fatal for Britain and the Carnarvon estate’s chances of housing Tutankhamun’s artefacts. By closing the tomb Carter voided his original concession, and only after the British government cracked down on the increasingly nationalist Egyptian government (British soldiers would remain in Egypt until 1956) could Carter return to his baby. Yet a new concession meant the Carnarvons had to relinquish their claim to the treasures: save for exhibitions in 1972 and 2009 London has never seen the relics, almost all of which are in Cairo.

The repatriation of ancient artefacts is a hot topic, and has largely centred on the ‘Famous Five’ artefacts Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass wants back in their ancestoral home. The British Museum seems to have survived another media storm surrounding the Rosetta Stone after a Dr Hawass visit in December. But what about sending artefacts the other way? Surely as the country that bankrolled and discovered the boy-king’s tomb, Britain deserves some of his pieces on display?

Egypt claims that as the motherland it should keep its most spectacular ancient assets. I’m not about to carry on about Egypt’s modern genetic makeup compared to that of its ancient forebears:how much of a resemblance do us Brits bear to the guys who built Stonehenge almost 5,000 years ago?

The Carnarvon estate was all-but evaporated funding the Tutankhamun expedition. By the time the pharaoh was found nearly all of Carnarvon’s properties had gone and he was dead. As the present-day Lord Carnarvon confides, “There would have been no guarantee that Tutankhamun would have been discovered to this day had (Carter and Carnarvon) not found it.” 21st century cock-ups with ground-penetrating radar go some way to backing his claim.

Tutankhamun is a global phenomenon, a rock star of the ancient world, loved just as much in the US and Europe as Egypt, if not more so. Dr Hawass’ assertion that the artefacts are too frail to travel seems to fall flat when you consider his willingness to let many go if the price is right. Attendance figures for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, which has toured North America for several years, has broken visitor figures in almost every city it has been.

The Australian Museum, Sydney, were forced to pull out of the same tour after Dr Hawass demanded 10 million Australian dollars (6.1 millon). As a guardian of these global treasures, Egypt has an obligation to loan its prized assets away for extended periods, whether it’s making a profit or not.

I’m not asking for everything at once, just a recognition of Carter and Carnarvon’s exploits (not the British occupation). Before you mention, I agree the British Museum should also loan out its ancient masterpieces: the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Assyrian Lion Hunt et al. In an age when it takes less time to send a message to New Zealand than next-door, surely we can globalise the world’s heritage? Tut’s treasures are our sparkling touchpoint into one of the world’s greatest cultures, and the world, including the country which found them, deserves a piece of that.

The London Stone ‘Just Needs Some Love’

I’m so old I’ve lost my Marbles a little bit. Not unlike Greece in that respect…I can’t remember my own age. There aren’t really any records of me pre middle ages, yet you humans think I’m Roman!” Maybe the stone was punch-drunk 2,000 years back, by being beaten into shape by Trojan hero Brutus. “Brutus? Well, the chap was mythical yet I’m very much here. But I do like the legend.”When you’re talking to a famous stone, an obvious question to ask (other than ‘why am I talking to a stone?’) is what it makes of its more famous rocky brethren. The Rosetta Stone? “Very sweet.” What about the Blarney Stone? “Good for the craic. My favourite other Stone is Keith Richards.(The) Rosetta Stone is historically very important, but I’m London’s oldest monument & have a touch of mysterious glamour,” it says. And it’s got a point: there is a sort of understated beauty about the London Stone – the thinking man’s artefact, perhaps.
Word has it plans are afoot to move the London Stone across Cannon Street, to a shiny new eponymous underground station. Some may see it as a chance to show the Stone in a rosier shade, but it has other ideas: “I believe I should stay put, and would like humans to appreciate the history of my location, and what I’ve survived here.” It’s clear the Stone has a chip on its, er, shoulder about its maligned recognition, something it and HK are keen to redress. “Seriously now, anyone from London should realise I’m an important part of their heritage. I may not look much, but I AM London,” it says. And while Stonehenge is “a better looker, I just want a little bit of love” (see how much of a looker it is in Stonehenge Virtual today). So let’s get out there and give it some love, London! Yes, there are millions of pretty foreign treasures to be seen in the city, but make sure you give the London Stone some of your precious time. If you don’t, someone might move it. And if the story’s true, none of us wants to deal with that…

Mix two parts legend to one part myth, sprinkle some facts and grill for a few decades: the London Stone is London’s enigmatic emblem, tightrope-walking over a sea of mystery and romance from its ersatz home on one of the city’s busiest commercial streets.

Thought to be Roman in origin, the stone is said to have been the point from which all distances were measured in Londinium. Though attached with the apocryphal tale of Brutus of Troy, a medieval incarnation of Greek hero Aeneas, the stone became better known in the middle ages as a place for deal-brokering. It became notorious in 1450 when rebel Jack Cade struck it with his sword, proclaiming himself Lord of London and vowing to overthrowKing Henry VI. In later years the stone’s home became St Swithin’s Church off Cannon Street, a Wren beauty. Yet when the church was destroyed by a German bomb in 1940 the stone found itself trapped into a tiny grill next door, where it cuts a rather odd figure today. Word has it developers plan to make it a central sight at the forthcoming Cannon Street station, though its future very much hangs in the balance. A strange artefact, to say the least.

But what does the Stone think of us? You might think such a question is unanswerable but on Monday night a Twitter interview, or Twinterview, brought an exclusive interview with the Stone itself. And far from being rocked by qualms and queries, the Stone batted back interrogations of its past, present and future with masonic aplomb.

“My favourite other Stone is Keith Richards.”

While some questions were irreverent – ‘have you developed a shoe fetish from ground level?’ (“I like to see who has odd socks on”) – there were others that have been argued for centuries. How old is the Stone, really? “I’m so old I’ve lost my Marbles a little bit. Not unlike Greece in that respect…I can’t remember my own age. There aren’t really any records of me pre middle ages, yet you humans think I’m Roman!” Maybe the stone was punch-drunk 2,000 years back, by being beaten into shape by Trojan hero Brutus. “Brutus? Well, the chap was mythical yet I’m very much here. But I do like the legend.”

When you’re talking to a famous stone, an obvious question to ask (other than ‘why am I talking to a stone?’) is what it makes of its more famous rocky brethren. The Rosetta Stone? “Very sweet.” What about the Blarney Stone? “Good for the craic. My favourite other Stone is Keith Richards.“

Very funny – but seriously, what does it think about the Rosetta Stone bounding over here and stealing its thunder? “(The) Rosetta Stone is historically very important, but I’m London’s oldest monument & have a touch of mysterious glamour,” it says. And it’s got a point: there is a sort of understated beauty about the London Stone – the thinking man’s artefact, perhaps.

Word has it plans are afoot to move the London Stone across Cannon Street, to a shiny new eponymous underground station. Some may see it as a chance to show the Stone in a rosier shade, but it has other ideas: “I believe I should stay put, and would like humans to appreciate the history of my location, and what I’ve survived here.”

It’s clear the Stone has a chip on its, er, shoulder about its maligned recognition, something it and HK are keen to redress. “Seriously now, anyone from London should realise I’m an important part of their heritage. I may not look much, but I AM London,” it says. And while Stonehenge is “a better looker, I just want a little bit of love” (see how much of a looker it is in Stonehenge Virtual today). So let’s get out there and give it some love, London! Yes, there are millions of pretty foreign treasures to be seen in the city, but make sure you give the London Stone some of your precious time. If you don’t, someone might move it. And if the story’s true, none of us wants to deal with that…

You can participate in Ancient World in London through our contests – if you’re in London, then check out Spot Ancient London, otherwise you can join in the fun with our virtual quest or the blogger’s challenge. Take a look through our soon – with your help – to be complete directory of The Ancient World in London and suggest any that we may have missed. Just as well, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any suggestions for our webseries! Keep up-to-date with everything in the Ancient World in London by subscribing to our RSS feeds, or by following us onTwitter,YouTube,Facebook,FlickrandiTunes.Heritage Key – Unlock the Wonders.

Talk to the London Stone Live on Monday Night!

Ever thought you’d been speaking to a brick wall day? Well now’s your chance to try it out for real, as we hook up with the London Stone on Twitter on Monday for what promises to be the masonry equivalent to Frost vs Nixon. And though you can get a huge dose of the stone’s history in our inaugural Ancient World in London video, this is a web event not to be missed.

Learn all about one of London’s weirdest treasures at 7pm Monday!

As arbiters of ancient info, Heritage Key has managed to bypass the artefact’s hefty entourage for an exclusive chat. And we’ve got no intention of letting up on our subject, poised as we are to give it an even bigger grilling than the City of London did many decades ago – resulting in its relative anonymity today.

But our questions aren’t set in stone – we want you to tell us what we should ask London’s most enigmatic emblem. Maybe you want to know why the stone was ever trapped into its tiny home on Cannon Street? Or whether it minds the Rosetta Stone coming over here and stealing its thunder? Do you think its current predicament should be absolute rock bottom, or could you really not give a stone’s toss compared to the city’s other treasures?

<- Whatever you think, check into this blog at 7pm on Monday for the entire interview.

The London Stone’s damage is said to foretell London’s destruction, so we’re lucky it’s suspended civic duties guarding the city to give us an hour of its time. And the fact the entire interview will be played out on Twitter sums up the connectivity of the Ancient World in London series, running across a glut of online outposts.

So whatever your theory, qualm or query, we want to hear it. We also want you to tell us what you think we should be exploring in London – this is an interactive event after all, you can add to our already burgeoning directory. Let us know by , logging onto our contact page, or by following us on Twitter – it’s always rocking here at Heritage Key (sorry).

We’ve also got a huge number of virtual, real-world and online events happening as part of AWiL:you could blog about the greatest invaders in London’s history and bag yourself some great Thames & Hudson books; join or Valentine contest, or you might want to listen to some authentic Egyptian music, live from King Tut Virtual.

Whatever your ancient bent, we’re covering all bases!

AWiL Video Series: Visit to the London Stone

The Ancient World in London is in full swing: we’ve got events, competitions, quests, articles and interviews going up by the day, packing your lucky brains with fascinating info and exciting adventures. And hot on the heels of all this is the Ancient World in London video series, the first episode of which you can see right here, right now.

Each video will feature amazing places, strange artefacts and intriguing experts – as we take our three intrepid explorers on no fewer than 25 adventures in and around the capital. We’ll be meeting mysterious druid priests, famous historians and avid enthusiasts as they take us round places well known and long forgotten.

Our first video shows how we hand-picked our adventurers online, and how we began exploring the ancient world in London. We wanted to begin at the point most people encounter history in the capital: the British Museum. But while Jamie and Nicole’s trip was exciting, they were itching to get out and see the parts of London no-one tells you about in school. What better place to take our intrepid trio, then, than the London Stone – a seemingly uninspiring lump of limestone whose history has been entwined in the city since Roman times.

Our adventurers explored the mysterious London Stone

Trapped into a rusty grate on one of London’s busiest streets, it took a while for our adventurers to get to grips with the stone. Nicole and Natalie were unimpressed with its murky surroundings. Yet all three could see its appeal; its mystique and legend. How about comparing it to the Rosetta Stone, asked Jamie? By sunset all three were ready for their next adventure – and so were we – but it would have to wait another day.

We know how great these videos are going to be, so sit tight and get stuck into the Ancient World in London while you wait for our next big discoveries – you’ll find there’s an entire ancient world waiting to be explored…

HD Video: Episode 1:The London Stone

(Click here to read a transcript of this video)