Artefacts help to trace England's past

Rosary beads from the Mary Rose, Victor Hugo's writing table and Banksy's Paint Pot Angel are among the artefacts selected to help trace the history of England.

The initial collection of 450 items, chosen by museums across the country, ties in with Radio 4's ground-breaking new project entitled A History of the World in 100 Objects.

At the heart of the series, written and presented by the British Museum's director, Neil MacGregor, priceless treasures from the Museum including relics from ancient Egypt and items from Sutton Hoo are to be used to trace the history of the world.

Among the contributors will be voices as diverse as Bob Geldof, Grayson Perry, Madhur Jaffrey and Seamus Heaney.

The series aims to present human history on a global scale, examining the stories behind the important items contained in the Museum's vast collection.

The Radio 4 series will be made up of 100 15-minute programmes to be broadcast each weekday at 9.45 a.m. from yesterday, and repeated each evening.

Programmes - to be broadcast in three batches - focus on one object from the Museum's extensive collection and each week will have a particular theme.

To run alongside the series, the BBC's 45 local websites joined with institutions across the regions to each produce a list of 10 objects depicting the history of their own area.

The results will be disclosed today online and feature on the channel's Inside Out programme.

Among the items chosen locally are: a Victorian rocking horse from the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens; Russian Imperial cufflinks from the Royal Pump Room Museum at Harrogate and a Happisburgh hand axe from the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.