10 February 2021

World-famous Bayeux Tapestry to go online

10 February 2021

The world-famous medieval Bayeux Tapestry may be off-limits to visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, but its keepers have put a digital version online so the public can enjoy its fabled cloth from the safety of home.

At nearly 70 metres long (230ft), users may have to be skilled at using the scroll function on their computers.

The resolution is so clear in the online panorama that you can see the fibres of each stitch when you zoom in.

A technician inspecting the tapestry in Bayeux (AP)

The Bayeux Tapestry is thought to date to the 11th century, and depicts events leading up to the Norman conquest of England, bringing the era to life in vivid, and sometimes bloody detail.

Despite being so old, it has shown relatively little decomposition.

But a plan to fix wear and tear in its storytelling weave has been put in place in a planned 2024 restoration by the museum that houses it in the Normandy town of Bayeux.

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox