Egyptian Dig Puzzle Solved

Brits are going potty for ancient Egyptian as a container found in Cornwall looks set to unlock the mysteries of the past. The vessel found in a disused garage is tipped to unearth the location of some of excavations in Egypt scattered across the world in the late 19th century. The pot was originally found by Flinders Petrie - one of the world's best known Egyptian archaeologists.

Petrie's meticulous records and scientifically based excavations in the region transformed archaeology, and he created a timeline still in use today. Petrie's best finds in the 19th century were shipped from Egypt to museums and universities across the globe but details of their exact locations became lost over time. But now a piece of cardbord attached to the pot could be set to reveal the location of some of Petrie's most treasured pieces. It was known that Petrie gave pieces of his finds to individuals, who visited his famous archaeological digs. The lable proves this was done on a systematic basis not previously guessed at and now could give clues as to the location of their final resting place.

Alice Stevenson, curator at the Petrie Museum in London believes the card could spell a breakthrough in the hunt for Petrie's lost works. She said: "There were obviously many such cards, but I have never seen or heard of one before – there must be more out there, which would help us trace the distribution of this material through museums and private collections."