ARCHAEOLOGISTS always want to know the provenance of any discovery - where it was found, its relation to other objects found on the site and so on. That is why they decry mere treasure seekers, knowing that an article loses half its significance if divorced from its context.

The British Library sneers at attempts to put the Lindisfarne Gospels back into context as "regionalism gone mad" (Echo, Jan 8). These attempts to prevent the return of the Gospels are another example of the cultural imperialism which seems to affect so many London-based scholars.

The Gospels book is not only an important text for study, it is a relic, having been intimately connected with the body of St Cuthbert since it was written.

Very few manuscripts in British Library care could be returned to their contexts, but Durham Cathedral still stands, still contains the relics of St Cuthbert, and has a team of experts whose skill in preservation of ancient manuscripts is obvious to visitors to the Cathedral Treasury.

Scholars wishing to consult the text would be made welcome and gain from seeing it in context.

Trying to fob us off with a computer-made duplicate will not do. The Lindisfarne Gospels belong in Durham, back in context.

TJ Towers, Langley Park, Durham.