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Good morning. Britain, it would appear, has more treasure than we’ve ever owned before. Not that the Chancellor has discovered there really is a magic money tree, rather that amendments are to be proposed to the 1996 Treasure Act. Until now, ancient objects, dug up by detectorists and others, were only designated treasure if they were either themselves made from precious metals, or found close by other artefacts that were. If new legislation is passed, finds forged from baser materials, such as copper or iron, will also be declared treasure, provided they have sufficient historic or cultural significance. I welcome the idea that the value of an object is not to be measured simply by how much it would fetch to be melted down for recycling. Rather it should be held precious because of the insight it brings into the world of those who lived in this land long before us. The treasuring of history and culture is something shared by many of the world’s faiths. We find it written in our holy books. We practise it in prayer, when we gather for worship. We live it out in the ways we serve our neighbourhoods. Our history and our culture anchor us in our shared stories. Like an ancient artefact found in a field, they bear the marks of the years through which they have journeyed, only even more so. Culture and history are never set solid, but revisited, with fresh eyes, in every generation. Historic names and dates may not change, nor the central creeds of a faith, but even when we look through the eyes of our antecedents, we do not see reality just as they saw it. In this last few months, the eyes of many of us, whether we profess religious faith or not, have been opened to how different the history and culture of Britain itself appear, when we take seriously the sentiment that Black Lives Matter. It’s been a wake up call for my own Church of England too, a challenge to re-examine the legacy of the part we played in slavery and in empire. To value ancient artefacts, is to recognise not only the skills and art embedded in the works themselves but to appraise the artisans and the societies that have bequeathed us such treasure. Displayed in our museums and galleries, each object may provide a precious link to how they lived their lives, and what they believed about God, the world and each other. And, as I find in my religious faith, a wisdom to challenge us in how we live our lives today.