The cylinder was on loan to the Iranian National Museum in Tehran
Yvonne and Alice talk about an artefact from ancient Persia , which is now Iran. The Cyrus Cylinder is engraved with what is possibly the world's earliest human rights charter.
This week's question:
Which country does the British Museum's oldest artefact come from?
a) Benin
b) Iraq
c) Tanzania
Listen out for the answer at the end of the programme!
Listen
King Cyrus' Cylinder
End of Section
Vocabulary
- an artefact
a very old ornament, tool or object made by humans
- human rights charter
legal document which says how people must be treated by governments and each other
- a cylindrical shape
something with fairly flat, circular ends and longer straight sides
- inscribed
writing which is cut into the surface of something so that it is permanent
- tyranny
cruel, oppressive treatment of people by their leaders
- repatriated
sent back to their own countries
- decreed
officially announced
- exhibition
display of a group of objects or art in a public place
- pre-Islamic history
here, events which happened in Iran before the country became an Islamic state
- engage
interact, talk to each other, discuss
