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Codebreakers and Groundbreakers

This exhibition is now in our archive.

A pioneering and interdisciplinary exhibition, Codebreakers and Groundbreakers will bring together, for the first time, the remarkable intellectual achievements and parallel narratives of two groups of ‘codebreakers’ working at the same time, but independently: those involved in breaking the Second World War codes and those who deciphered the ancient script of Linear B – Europe’s earliest comprehensible writing system.

In a display including an Enigma machine, a rare loan from GCHQ, and unique archival documents held at the University of Cambridge, the exhibition will explore and celebrate the genius of Second World War codebreakers such as Alan Turing and Bill Tutte; as well as Michael Ventris and John Chadwick (himself a Bletchley codebreaker) who deciphered Linear B. It will also encourage visitors to explore ‘codebreaking’ in all its forms.

The exhibition is a joint project with the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, with support from Microsoft and The Marlay Group.

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