Sudan riches go on show

Ancient artefacts saved in a race against time before a new dam floods miles of the Nile Valley in Sudan are to be included in a new exhibition at the British Museum.

The artefacts, from the Nile's fourth cataract which is due to be flooded by 2008, will be among 320 pieces lent by the National Museum in Khartoum, itself one of the oldest museums in Africa.

Sudan: Ancient Treasures, an Exhibition of Recent Discoveries, has been three years in the planning but has gained poignancy in the light of the humanitarian crisis. Neil MacGregor, the British Museum's director, said a planned £5 entrance fee had been scrapped, but there would be boxes for donations to Oxfam and Save the Children.