Can we have the Cyrus cylinder back?
OK, so what is this cylinder and who are ‘we’?
The Cyrus cylinder is a 6th century BC artefect from Babylonia that is sometimes described as the world’s first charter of human rights. Since its excavation in 1879, it has been owned and displayed by the British Museum in London.
Currently, however, the cylinder is on loan to Iran where it has just gone on display in the National Museum. Some elements in the Iranian power structure are suggesting that the artefect belongs to Iran and should stay there. At the moment, it is scheduled to be back in London in January.
While I was on holiday in Iran, I saw the tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae and, on my return, I wrote a short story called “The Man From Iran” which mentions the Cyrus cylinder.