Moral high ground? I think not! If the Rosetta stone and the other prized objects that the British Museum holds were returned to Egypt they would be stored 'carefully' in archaic glass cabinets in dusty side-rooms, along with so many other KEY RELICS of their past.

I agree that the Rosetta stone is better in Britain than lying in the Atlantic Ocean- where it would be if we hadn't carefully rescued, restored and preserved it.

Perhaps if Cairo were to proudly display and preserve the wondrous relics that it already has then we might be able to even consider returning the Rosetta stone and other relics to Egypt. We put our objects from the BM on tours across the world to share them with other countries. The last time Egypt did that to us was in the seventies. I hardly think it would be sensible to thrust yet more priceless objects into the claws of that greedy egotist Zahi Hawass, when he cannot even cope with what he already has!

Well said, that is actually an amazingly good point. I am quite sick of this discussion now though. Claude, could you please drop it once and for all? I am sorry to say but it really infuriates me that you use the same arguments again and again and again, you obviously dont have much of an experience with debating. God, I would hate to be stuck in a debate with you in person. At least over the internet I cant tut, roll my eyes or get to angry. All this crap you are spouting about Imperialism is, quite frankly, really insulting. How dare you call me an Imperialist (and look into the meaning before using it), you dont know me at all. How can I be an Imperialist when my two closest friends come from countries that used to be in the British Empire? If I were an Imperialist I would hardly be best friends with an Indian Sikh and a Carribean Black Girl! So dont you dare call me nationalistic, racist or colonialist (all terms covered in the word Imperialist). I do not support the monarchy, I dont like the idea of an Empire, I am not racist, I am not patriotic and I dont see myself as superior to other countries. How dare you call me that when I am in fact the enemy of what Imperialism actually is. Idiot.