2016-06-17 Fri

Magna Carta, also known as "the Great Charter" was first drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to settle tensions between King John of England and a group of rebel barons at Runnymede, on 15th June 1215. The charter was issued for the protection of church rights, put an end to illegal imprisonment, fasten jurisdiction processes, and limit feudal payments. It was instrumental for laying the foundation of constitutional law in England.

A charter of such significance will now be preserved for millions of years on a glass coin created by researchers at the University of Southampton using the latest technology. The coin was presented to Salisbury Cathedral and one of the original documents of the Charter is inscribed on it.

Officials have stated that the 1 inch glass disc can hold huge amount of data and this particular one features both Latin and English Versions of the Magna Carta. They also revealed that up to 360 TB of data can be stored on a single CD sized disc.

Four original copies of Magna Carta are preserved at Salisbury Cathedral, whereas other copies are at British Library and Lincoln Cathedral.

To know more about Magna Carta, click here