Rosetta Stone

On 27 March 196 BC, a council of priests in Memphis issued a decree for a child king who needed their support. They wrote it in three scripts as a practical measure. Two thousand years later, that afterthought unlocked Egyptian civilisation.

On 15 January 1759, the British Museum opened its doors to the public — tickets by written application only. It holds eight million objects today, charges nothing to enter, and argues with half the world about giving things back.