Today, lamps are produced in a range of models and sizes, individually numbered and accompanied by a short history and certificate of origin.

BBC: Site launch lights up mining past

It remains to be proven that the image beneath is of Roman origin, but the collector's history seems to suggest it.

BBC: Terahertz scanner reveals hidden fresco at Louvre

"Because mutations start occurring at regular intervals in these genes as soon as a new species evolves - like the ticking of a clock - we can use them to trace the evolutionary history of a species back to its time of origin, " said Dr Hedges.

BBC: Earth AP

The origin of the blue-chip meteorite market was a 1995 natural history auction at Phillips in New York, for which an entertainment manager named Darryl Pitt selected some 15 meteorites from his personal collection and photographed them as if they were masterpieces of modern art.

FORBES: Hot Rocks

Billed as part travel guide and part cultural, historical reference, it explores history, art and architecture, furniture and antiques, cooking, immigration, and English words of Dutch origin.

FORBES: History Buff Alert! Staten Island And Dutch New York

Having monitored the number of utility patents (an inexact but objective measure for innovation) granted by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office to countries during this period, it was fascinating to observe that the number of patents of foreign origin over taking those from the U.S. in 2007 for the first time in history.

FORBES: The locus of innovation has shifted away from the U.S.