SCIENTISTS and historians joined forces at Dorset’s Kingston Lacy to celebrate two groundbreaking missions linked by their name.

Researchers are using pioneering new technologies to unlock the secrets of the Egyptian Philae obelisk that was brought to Dorset by William Bankes and now stands in the grounds of Kingston Lacy.

And the Rosetta Mission’s Philae lander, which took its name from the Egyptian monolith, will next month try and make the first ever soft landing on a comet.

The Rosetta probe and its Philae lander have spent the past 10 years travelling through space ahead of the planned touch down on the comet on November 12.

Researchers are hoping the mission will help reveal information about the composition of the ices and organic material within the comet.

Meanwhile, those tasked with studying the Egyptian monolith are making significant progress in their bid to uncover the obelisk’s secrets.

The obelisk bears both Egyptian hieroglyphs and Ancient Greek text and a team from the University of Oxford is using new imaging techniques to produce the most complete visualisation of a monument of this kind ever made and help them read the eroded Greek text.

Kingston Lacy is also hosting a new exhibition that showcases some of William Bankes’ treasures from his extensive travels.

Curator James Grasby said he was a colourful character worth celebrating: “He was one of the most quirky characters in the Bankes family, as epitomised by the fact he travelled to the most dangerous parts of the world – his travels were the equivalent of deciding to go to Sierra Leone, the Ukraine and Syria today.

“He was fascinated by archaeology and history and was responsible for recasting and remodelling this house, which is filled with treasures from around Europe.

“Part of that collection is the most remarkable obelisk. The Philae Obelisk did for Egyptian history what this Philae mission to the comet will do for the understanding of life on earth.”