Bits of history

PRESIDENT Sebastian Pinera yesterday presented the Queen and David Cameron with chunks of rock from the rescue site at the San Jose mine in Chile.

Other dignitaries will also receive pieces of stone as a memento of the dramatic rescue, which concluded last week.

But the rocks are not the first humble inanimate objects to earn significance.

Pieces of the Berlin Wall became collectors' items after it came down in 1989, signalling the demise of communism in East Germany. Chunks now fetch significant sums at auction.

Prisoners' plates and cutlery from the notorious Robben Island prison in South Africa, where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years, are also widely traded.

And, of course, lunar rock, pictured above, has become much sought-after.