The Bayeux Tapestry, nearly 950 years old, will leave its home in Bayeux for only the third time in history to be displayed at the British Museum for nine months. French officials insist the journey will be as safe “as a baby,” despite concerns from art experts who warn the artifact is too fragile and significant to move.

After two trial runs using facsimiles, France’s culture ministry expressed confidence that technical challenges have been resolved. “I am extremely serene. Nothing has been left to chance,” said Delphine Christophe, head of heritage and architecture at the ministry.

To protect the 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry, it will be placed in a double crate—a case inside a shell. Last September, 90 people were required to lift the tapestry from its display in Bayeux and place it on a folding stand, now stored at a secret location nearby. For the London journey, the stand will be folded into an aluminum crate regulating temperature and humidity, then housed in an outer cage equipped with 12 metal springs to absorb shocks.
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The entire ensemble will travel by lorry and through the Channel Tunnel for the 560 km (348 mile) trip. “The idea is that vertical shocks are transformed into horizontal ones, causing the inner crate to rock gently like a baby in a cradle,” explained conservation expert Cecilia Gauvin.

Dummy runs in February and April showed that shocks were absorbed at a rate of 96%, equivalent to the vibrations artworks experience simply from museum visitors’ footsteps. “Don’t forget an artwork receives vibrations merely from the footsteps of all the visitors,” added Kerstin Kracht, a specialist in vibration reduction.