The Lampedusa Cross

This small cross near the entrance  was the last acquisition made by the  British Museum's brilliant departing Director Neil McGregor. It's a cross made in 2015 by a carpenter on the island of lampedusa in Italy, from wood a boat that was wrecked carrying refugees and migrants across the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe. It is a symbol of the kindness of ordinary people when faced with the suffering of thousands who risk everything in search of a better life. The cross was brought across to London by the museum's chief curator having heard a BBC World Service interview with the carpenter by Emma Jane Kirby.