Very impressive,
however I'm not exactly sure why it's called the British museum.
It has an amazing collection of Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Islamic,
Chinese, Japanese and Indian sculptures and artefacts. There
was a small section of British history.
My favourite
things were the big things. Although big isn't the best word
to describe the sculptures. The Rosetta stone is on display.
It is the key that unlocked the secrets of hieroglyphics.
Downstairs
were many examples of Greek and Roman sculpture. Here is the
god of wine. It dates to the 3rd century BC. The oldest and
biggest sculptures were the Cyclades dating to 3000BC.
On the ground
floor I enjoyed ruins from the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos. This
was a tomb built for Halikarnassos in 351BC and was 140 ft high.
These two are Halikarnassos and his wife. They were placed on
the top of the tomb. I also loved the Nereid Monument.
The most
fascinating exhibits were upstairs. These were the Egyptian
mummies display, and the Lindow Man. The Lindow man was discovered
in marshes in England. He has been well preserved and its amazing
to see someone from 1st Century AD. I've not seen anything like
this before. One mummy had been unwrapped. Her fingernails were
still in tact. They don't unwrap mummies any more but cat scan
them instead. To mummify something the brain was removed through
the nose. A cut was made in their flank and their organs removed.
They left the bodies covered in salt and filled the cavities
with resin to take out moisture. Then the bodies were wrapped
according to their status. Very fascinating.
The museum
is huge but luckily free. I would have gladly paid an admission
charge as it would certainly have been worth it.
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