History of the World in Oxfordshire

Blankets have been made in Witney since The Iron Age

An exciting collaboration between the BBC and the British Museum aims to create an online museum of world history.

Curators from around Oxfordshire have chosen objects from their collections to tell the story of the county.

At the same time, BBC Radio 4 is taking a look into the stories behind 100 objects in the British Museum.

The oldest piece in Oxfordshire's list of objects is a Roman coin featuring the short-lived emperor Domitianus II.

The most recent is the finishing post taken from the track on the day Roger Bannister became the first man to run 1 mile in under 4 minutes.

Other featured exhibits include a Witney blanket, a Morris insignia, a Woodstock cut-steel sword, a painting by a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and a 19th century whit-horn!

Carol Anderson, the Museums Service Manager at Oxfordshire County Council, explains how the experts narrowed down their list.

"Can't be done was our first response. How on earth can you choose just ten objects from some of the greatest museum collections in the world to illustrate the story of a county with such a rich history?

"So the curators from the University museums put their heads together, as did the staff and volunteers from the County Service. We tried to think about things that were distinctive to the county and the objects we could select to represent those unique events, activities and ideas.

"The list we eventually arrived at is just one of many possible lists and the objects we have chosen are simply a starting point for discussion."

But this is only the very start of the project. Find out more information about the 10 objects from Oxfordshire here , as well as how you can submit your own objects.

Exhibits include Sister Mary Bruines’ battle dress

The Top 10 as chosen by local specialists is as follows:

1 Bannister's sub-4 minute finishing post
OU Sports Dept - on public display at Iffley Road Sports Centre, Oxford.

2 Roman Coin of Domitianus II
Ashmolean

3 The Structure of Penicillin
Museum of the History of Science

4 The Return of the Dove to the Ark by Sir John Everett Millais
Ashmolean

5 A 19th century Whit-Horn made from coiled willow bark
Pitt Rivers Museum

6 Dummy fuel rod for nuclear test reactor
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock

7 Nurse's WWII battledress jacket
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock

8 Insignia from radiator of Morris 10 car
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock

9 Witney blanket
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock

10 18th century Woodstock cut-steel sword
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock