"The battle of the standards": great pyramid metrology and British identity, 1859-1890 (1).

FOR the past few years, one of the most vigorous debates in Britain has been that surrounding membership in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Should the nation decide to join the union it would require abandoning the British pound in favor of the euro. To date, twelve nations have made the switch from their national currencies and now share a common monetary unit with their European neighbors. The British have hesitated. In fact, Britain has been reluctant about forming closer ties with Europe since the first steps toward European Union began in the 1950s. Britain finally…