Heard a very interesting bit of current news about the Rosetta Stone on a visit to San Jose's Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum last month - it isn't really black at all. That's the ink that originally was put on by the French to do rubbings back when they found it, and nobody's touched it since. This was only found out a couple of months ago. It's pink underneath.
That's amusing to know. Our replica in the library is slate black.
Eighth Earl burned the summer palace. Seventh Earl took the marbles. Must have been that vandalism gene.
BTW, the Chinese did more than seize the envoys. They tortured them to death.