Dead-of-night operation brings famed Bayeux Tapestry back to Britain after nearly 1,000 years

London (CNN) — Under police escort in the early hours of Friday, the Bayeux Tapestry arrived back in Britain after an absence of almost 1,000 years.

The journey that the world-famous 11th-century artwork took to arrive at the British Museum in London, where it will be on display between September and July 2027, was executed with military precision after intense planning on both sides of the English Channel.

Stretching to 70 meters long (230 feet), the tapestry is not actually a tapestry at all but an embroidery of dyed wool stitched onto a bleached linen background.

Created 960 years ago, it depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which saw William the Conqueror seize the throne from Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.

A top-secret operation moved the historic artifact from its permanent home in the northwestern French town of Bayeux to Folkestone on the coast of Kent, southeast England.

Hizkia, a Dutch specialist art transportation firm, conveyed it from there by truck, under police escort to the museum in the heart of London.

A BBC reporter who witnessed the delivery of the tapestry said the truck pulled up at the museum around 3.15 a.m. local time (10.15 p.m. ET). The BBC reported that the transportation firm had done “several dry runs” to “measure the vibrations” to ensure it could “keep (the artwork) as safe as possible”.

In a press statement sent to CNN, the museum said it has spent the past year working with Hizkia and the culture ministries of Britain and France to ensure the smooth transfer of what it described as “one of the most significant international museum loans ever undertaken between the two countries.”

Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, said in the release: “This has been a monumental effort from colleagues at the British Museum and our partners in the UK and France. Watching the Tapestry arrive at the Museum is a moment I will never forget and I look forward to seeing the exhibition take shape over the coming weeks and welcoming the first visitors through our doors this September.”

Hizkia posted a photo of their “safe end-to-end packaging and transport” of the tapestry on Instagram, which showed it being lowered in an aluminum frame out of a yellow lorry.

The firm said: “This was a team effort involving our European branches and partners, combining Danish transport, French project management, German scientific expertise, and Dutch expertise in art handling and packaging.”

Over the next few weeks the tapestry will undergo a range of “condition checks,” according to the museum statement, before it is installed in a custom showcase ahead of what is certain to be a blockbuster exhibition, opening in September.

When the online box office opened last week, the museum recorded the single biggest day of ticket sales in its history, generating more than £2.4 million ($3.2 million) in sales in the first 24 hours.

While the artwork’s origin story has been lost to history, most scholars today believe it is likely to have been created in or around the cathedral city of Canterbury, in southeast England, according to the British Museum. It is presumed to have been commissioned by William the Conqueror’s half-brother, Bishop Odo, to adorn his new cathedral in Bayeux in 1077.

The most famous scene on the embroidery shows Harold being killed by an arrow to the eye at the Battle of Hastings. Other standout moments include a depiction of Halley’s comet, some six centuries before the birth of Edmond Halley, the English astronomer after which it would one day be named.

In an opinion piece published in Britain’s The Times newspaper on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said curators, restorers, engineers and others have worked with “remarkable dedication and ingenuity” over the past year to ensure the precious artwork’s smooth transfer.

“This loan from France means much more than simply moving an artwork: it is a gesture of trust, a tangible expression of a long-standing friendship and a sign of our shared desire to see France and the United Kingdom build their future together,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the UK’s culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said in the press release: “Make no mistake — this is an historic moment and a significant act of friendship as we welcome this iconic historical tapestry back to Britain for the first time in almost 1,000 years.”

“This exhibition is a once in a life time opportunity to learn about this pivotal period in our national story and our shared heritage and friendship with France, which endures to the present day. I’m delighted to welcome this tapestry back onto British shores.”

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Maureen O’Hare contributed to this report.