An ancient relic said by some to have been placed on the head of Jesus Christ at his crucifixion has returned to Notre-Dame, five years after it was saved from a fire that devastated the cathedral in Paris

The Crown of Thorns – comprising a circle of rushes encased in a crystal and gold tube – was brought back to the newly restored cathedral in a ceremony overseen by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich.

The crown was acquired by King Louis IX of France in Constantinople in 1239 for 135,000 livres – nearly half France’s annual expenditure at the time.

Initially kept at the Sainte-Chapelle, it was moved to Notre-Dame’s treasury in 1806 where it remained until the fire which ripped through the 850-year-old building.