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For nearly 15 years, Rowan Taylor has honed his craft as a blacksmith based in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and this summer he is set to embark on what he describes as the professional opportunity of a lifetime. Taylor and two colleagues from the UK’s National School of Blacksmithing (NSB) have been invited to join an international experimental archaeology initiative in Aggersborg, Denmark, tasked with forging a fully functional, historically accurate 8th-century-style anchor for a reconstructed Viking longship named Huld.

The project, led by world-renowned bloomery iron specialist Jens Olesen, was first conceptualized during informal discussions at the close of Denmark’s annual historic market season, when Olesen and organizers from the Aggersborg Viking Craft Meeting began brainstorming an ambitious large-scale forging project that would strictly adhere to authentic Viking-era materials and methods. Olesen, who had previously collaborated with Taylor on archaeological projects in Ireland, said he immediately thought of the British blacksmith when the anchor project moved forward. Taylor, who has spent years researching ancient Viking anchor design and forging techniques, admitted he jumped at the offer the second it was extended: “I nearly bit Jens’ hand off” to secure the role, he told the BBC.

What sets this project apart from museum replicas is its uncompromising commitment to historical accuracy: rather than relying on modern steel or 19th-century Victorian wrought iron, the team will work exclusively with bloomery iron, the exact low-carbon ferrous material Viking smiths used to craft tools and hardware more than 1,200 years ago. When complete, the anchor will measure 70 centimeters tall and weigh approximately 10 kilograms, making it one of the largest single objects forged from bloomery iron produced since the early 1800s, according to Taylor.

Beyond creating a decorative display piece, the team aims to produce a fully operational anchor that will be permanently installed on the Huld, a reconstructed Viking vessel that sails from Aggersborg. For Taylor, the project is a rare chance to test years of academic observations and archaeological research in a real-world setting, rather than leaving the findings locked in academic papers or displayed as static museum pieces. “Just having this anchor on a boat will allow us to test its capability… we can then compare whatever data comes out of that to the archaeological record and ongoing research,” he explained. He added that he hopes to confirm his theories about traditional Viking joinery techniques, proving they are not just historically plausible but structurally sound for everyday use.

Taylor, who works as a course tutor at the NSB based at Holme Lacy College near Hereford, is bringing two additional members of the school’s team along for the project: fellow tutor Mischa Kunkel and technician Ernestas Jakubauskas. While the Aggersborg Anchor Project remains an independent initiative, Taylor credits the UK’s world-leading blacksmith training programs for giving his team the specialized skills needed to take on the unique challenge. “The UK probably has the best blacksmith training in the world,” he noted, explaining why he believes the international team reached out to UK craftspeople for the work.

With preparations complete, Taylor said he has spent weeks counting down the days until he departs for Denmark, describing the assignment as a long-awaited “dream work trip” that aligns perfectly with his years of research into ancient Norse craft traditions. The finished anchor is expected to be installed on the Huld later this year, where it will contribute to ongoing global research into Viking maritime technology.

As peak summer travel season hits the European Union, the bloc’s newly rolled-out digital Entry Exit System (EES) has triggered widespread long queues and significant processing delays for non-EU travelers at major continental airports, drawing sharp criticism from airport operators and airline carriers alike.

Implemented in a phased rollout starting last October, EES mandates that all non-EU citizens entering the 29-nation Schengen Area must register biometric data — including fingerprints and a facial photograph — upon arrival, with the information cross-checked when travelers exit the bloc. Most processing is completed via standalone automated kiosks, though minors and other travelers with special requirements must complete the step in person with border agents. Even with incremental technical adjustments and process changes implemented in recent months, top officials at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Italy’s busiest international gateway, confirm wait times for UK travelers have nearly tripled compared to pre-EES protocols.

Fiumicino’s Chief Aviation Officer Ivan Bassato told the BBC that even after integrating EES processing into existing passport e-gates — a modification that followed a €12 million investment in standalone kiosks that proved unable to handle peak passenger volumes — average wait times for UK nationals have jumped from just 7 minutes pre-EES to 20 minutes currently. Some passengers arriving during peak windows have reported waiting one to two hours to clear border control, with several missing connecting transportation and even departing flights after long holds. Bassato, whose airport is widely regarded as one of the most technologically advanced in Europe, emphasized that current wait times are unacceptable, calling for urgent systemic fixes. He outlined two key adjustments: cutting redundant process steps that create unnecessary duplication, and expanding the use of the EU’s pre-registration app, which is currently only active in two member states: Sweden and Portugal.

While airport and airline leaders have urged the European Commission to allow member states to temporarily suspend EES during peak travel periods to ease congestion, a policy meeting held earlier this month failed to produce any changes to the current framework. Member states retain the right to suspend the system only under exceptional circumstances.

The issue is not isolated to Italy. At Portugal’s busy Faro Airport, a top destination for summer sun-seeking UK travelers, border police have also documented growing delays linked to EES, as well as recurring technical bugs. Superintendent Pedro Oliveira, head of border control at Faro, acknowledged that what previously would have been a 10-minute wait can now stretch to more than 30 minutes. He added that the system is vulnerable to cross-network outages: server issues originating in other parts of the EU can crash EES across all member states simultaneously, requiring a full system reboot that adds more downtime for passengers. Oliveira noted that these outages have become less frequent in recent months, and that extreme waits over an hour are rare at Faro, limited only to unexpected peaks when dozens of flights arrive within a narrow window. Portugal has responded to delays by recruiting additional border officers and adjusting rules to require all minors under 16 to process with staff rather than kiosks.

Budget carrier Ryanair, one of the largest operators of transnational flights into the EU, has been among the most vocal critics of the rollout, calling it a “failed implementation” that creates avoidable travel disruption. The airline has warned UK passengers traveling to Europe this summer to plan for extended waits and build extra time into their travel itineraries. Passengers interviewed across Rome, one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, shared widespread stories of frustrating delays: UK traveler Carl, who arrived in Rome from Yorkshire with young children, reported a two-hour wait from plane disembarkation to border clearance. “I knew it was going to be bad, but not that bad,” he said. US visitor David, traveling with his wife, waited an hour and missed his pre-booked private transfer. Other travelers arriving through Barcelona similarly reported 45 to 60 minute waits, with some noting their border queue time matched the length of their flight to Spain.

In response to the widespread reports of disruption, the European Commission stated that disruptions are limited at most EU airports, adding that it will continue providing full support to member states as they work through implementation challenges.

In the pre-dawn stillness of 2:50 a.m., a reinforced, temperature-controlled crate wrapped in an aluminum frame rolled through the loading bay doors of London’s British Museum. Inside, wrapped in centuries of history, lay the Bayeux Tapestry — making its first return to British soil in nearly 1,000 years, since historians believe it was originally crafted here shortly after the 1066 Norman Conquest.

Escorted by French police from an undisclosed northern French holding location and transported across the Channel via Eurotunnel, the 70-meter 11th-century embroidery completed its 300-plus-mile journey under cover of night to minimize risk to the fragile artifact. The arrival was witnessed by a small group of stakeholders including the French ambassador to the UK and British Museum leadership, with BBC News on hand to document the landmark moment.

The iconic work of medieval textile art weaves 58 vivid scenes detailing the chain of events that led to William of Normandy’s invasion of England and the defeat of Anglo-Saxon King Harold II — a turning point that redefined the course of British history, politics, language and culture. Despite its name, the Bayeux Tapestry is technically an embroidery: stitched onto linen with colored wool yarn, it includes 626 figures, 202 horses, and detailed depictions of 11th-century architecture, warfare, seafaring and daily life that no surviving written source can match. Historians credit its survival for nearly a millennium, through threats of moths, fire, flooding and war, as nothing short of a miracle.

The nine-month loan is a landmark cultural agreement between the French and UK governments, finalized last year between French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The arrangement comes as Bayeux Museum, where the tapestry has been on permanent display since 1983, undergoes major renovation work. In exchange for the temporary loan, the British Museum is sending two of its most iconic British treasures to Normandy: the famed Sutton Hoo ship burial hoard and the 12th-century Lewis chessmen, carved from walrus ivory.

British Museum director Nick Cullinan called the tapestry’s return a once-in-a-lifetime historic event. “We’ve just witnessed something rather extraordinary… it feels like a really remarkable thing not just to witness but to be part of, and we’re so excited to share it with as many people as possible,” he said. Millie Horton-Insch, the exhibition’s project curator, acknowledged that the quiet unloading of a crate might seem unremarkable to an outside observer, but for her and her team, the moment carried profound weight. “When you consider the object within it, how old it was, how close to the events it depicts it was made, by people who lived through those events, it’s really profound,” she said, adding that she teared up as the crate was unloaded. Macron signaled the warm diplomatic spirit of the loan earlier, when he shared an image of the tapestry projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover, captioned with a simple “merci beaucoup.”

The historic loan has not been without controversy, however. Since the agreement was announced, French critics have raised urgent concerns about the risk of damage to the fragile textile, which has not left Bayeux in decades. A public petition opposing the move labeled it a “heritage crime,” and even famed late British artist David Hockney publicly opposed the transport, arguing that “some things are too precious to take a risk with.”

Museum and government officials on both sides have emphasized that every possible precaution was taken to protect the artifact during transit. After the tapestry was removed from its display stand in Bayeux last year, it was kept on its custom folding mount, placed inside a climate-controlled inner crate, then fitted into an outer aluminum-framed crate fitted with metal spring shock absorbers to buffer against road vibrations. Curators and transport teams completed two full test runs of the route using an identical textile replica to measure vibration levels and refine safety protocols, before the original artwork made its journey.

Cullinan stressed that the loan would never have moved forward if any stakeholder had deemed it too risky. “If anybody had said on the other side, especially on the French side as the lenders, ‘I think this is too risky to do’, it wouldn’t be arriving now. That’s the reality. A museum would never do something that imperilled the objects in its care,” he said. Peter Ricketts, the UK’s special envoy for the tapestry loan, added that all meticulous preparations had paid off, with the artifact arriving in perfect condition. “everything possible had been done to avoid damage,” he said. “No one would want to bring the tapestry to the UK if they thought there was any damage or danger to this extraordinary object. I’m not worried, I’m relieved.” Ricketts framed the loan as a meaningful act of cultural diplomacy, calling it “two old nations coming together to look at their shared history and that is very special.”

Public excitement for the September opening has already reached historic levels: the British Museum sold a record 100,000 tickets on the first day of sales alone. Unlike its permanent display in Bayeux, the tapestry will be exhibited flat in London, per the terms of the loan, with a custom mezzanine viewing platform that will allow visitors to see the entire 70-meter work in one view — an experience that has never been possible before in the tapestry’s history. Over the coming weeks, conservation teams will conduct a painstaking pre-display examination of the embroidery to document its condition ahead of the opening, marking the final step in a journey nearly 1,000 years in the making.