Every tourist who has visited the capital of Great Britain must visit the British Museum in London (English the British Museum). This place is included in the program of all city tours: and it is not surprising, because the funds contain the richest collection of objects. The visitor will definitely find something new, unexpected and interesting.

History of creation

The museum began with three private collections, which were donated to the newly created one (by decree of the British Parliament in 1753):

Hans Sloan was fond of natural sciences. He collected many items that he found amusing. When the collection became huge, the president of the Royal Society offered it as a gift to the museum. And now it is an invaluable part of the exhibition.
Another collector, Robert Cotton, enthusiastically collected old manuscripts and books. He also donated his finds to the new museum. It is now the basis of the British Library.
A friend of Pope and Swift, Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, also could not pass by old books and manuscripts. And his collection perfectly complemented the already established funds.

The first visitors were able to view the exposition in 1759. Montagu Palace in Bloomsbury was allocated for the new cultural site. But the funds were constantly replenished, and in 1823, by decision of Parliament, the Montagu Palace was demolished and a new, more spacious building began to be built. In 1847, the palace was opened, which was built by Robert Smerk. The complex is made in the traditions of classicism. A distinctive feature of the modern museum is a light glass dome crowning heavy stone columns. This detail appeared in 2000, its author is Norman Foster.

Interestingly, the first temporary restoration workshop at the museum appeared in 1918. Then part of the exhibits returned from the evacuation damaged. It was necessary to take urgent action. And since 1931, the workshops began to work constantly. Today's visitors can view Greville's mineral collection, antique vases purchased from Hamilton, finds made in the Parthenon by Lord Elgin and sold by him to the museum.

Exposure

The exposition of the museum is constantly replenished with new items. And, unfortunately, not all of them came to the funds legally. Some researchers believe that the stages of development of the British Museum reflects the predatory position of England as a colonizer.

Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan

This department occupies the 2nd place among the collections of the world in terms of the completeness of the exposition. In the first place, of course, the Cairo Museum. But the main place to study Egypt is still the British Museum. This is not surprising: the exposition covers all stages of the country's development, starting from the 10th century BC. The basis for the collection was the gift of Hans Sloan: he donated 160 authentic items.

In the future, the exposition was replenished from the following sources:

English troops defeated Napoleon's army in Egypt in 1801. The collection of antiquities collected by the dictator was seized, including the Rosetta Stone. These items became spoils of war and entered the British Museum.
Then the pace of replenishment of the exposition slowed down: until the end of the 19th century, antiquities had to be bought or accepted as a gift from private collectors.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the British Egypt Exploration Foundation began to work actively. Excavations were carried out in Africa, the objects found were immediately transported to England and entered the museum. It did not require the consent of the local authorities. The result was a rapid growth of funds: by 1924, the collection consisted of 57,000 exhibits.
At the end of the twentieth century, the Egyptian government imposed a ban on the export of antiquities outside the state, the growth rate of the British Museum's exposition slowed down again. But by this time the volume of the collection was 110,000 items.

Most of the exhibits are in storage: visitors can see only 4% of the total. The exhibition of items occupies 7 permanent galleries. Among them, the fourth is the most popular.

It is in gallery number 4 that tourists are invited to look at:

Amarna archive. It is represented by 95 clay tablets, which reflect the correspondence of the pharaohs of Egypt and Syria. Age of exhibits: approximately 1350 BC.
Battle palette. The stone tablet depicts battle scenes of famous battles, supplemented by text in the form of pictograms. The age of the tablet: the end of the 4th millennium BC.
Rosetta stone. But the decree of King Ptolemy was knocked out on him. But what is interesting is that the text is written in three different ways: Egyptian cursive (Demotic), cuneiform, and ancient Greek.

The number of mummies and ancient coffins on display is 140. This is slightly less than the similar exposition of the museum in Cairo.

Department of Greece and Rome

This is the second most important section of the British Museum. But the area given over to the exhibits is four times greater than that occupied by the department of Egypt and Syria. The number of collected items exceeds 100,000 units. The exhibition allows you to get acquainted with the history of Crete, Athens, Mycenae, Athens, Lycia, Ephesus and Cyprus, to trace all stages of the development of the Holy Roman Empire. Ownership of some of the museum's items is controversial: Greece is demanding the return of Elgin's unique marbles.

There is no systematic presentation of treasures. In order to put together a complete image of the countries, there are few exhibited items. But they are still enough to understand how people of early periods lived:

The exposition begins with a showcase dedicated to the Etruscans. And this is not surprising: the customs of the pre-Roman tribes were brought into life by people of subsequent historical periods. Chariot racing, a favorite pastime of the Greeks and Romans, is taken from the life of the Etruscans. The same can be said about funeral rites. This part of the exposition ranks second after the Italian part in terms of saturation.
Crockery occupies the central place in the exposition. The material used for its manufacture is different: bronze, glass, clay. The vessels are decorated with battle scenes, portraits of heroes and images of gods.
It is interesting to consider the items that people used in housekeeping. Richly decorated oil lamps, candle holders, combs, hairpins for ancient beauties make you stand in front of shop windows for a long time.
The number of statues of different sizes is amazing. They are made of burnt clay, marble, bronze.
The stand dedicated to ancient physicians is also of interest. Shown here are items used to perform simple surgical operations. And so that the doctor does not forget any important organs, there are figures of a man in a section next to him.
Separately exhibited jewelry made of precious metals. Modern jewelers cannot repeat some techniques of working with gold.

The pearl of the collection is fragments of the wonders of the world: the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.

Department of the Middle East

The first exhibits entered the museum in 1772. And today's funds are more than 330,000 of the most valuable items. The largest number of exhibits were transferred to the vault in the 19th century, when large-scale excavations began on the territory of modern Iran. The department has objects of cultures of Persia, Anatolia, Arabia, Caucasus, Phenicia, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Syria, Persia, Arabia.

Particularly valuable are the subsections where:

Fragments of the ruins of Mesopotamian palaces, archives of the kings of Assyria, bas-reliefs of the kings of Esarhaddon, Ashurnazirpal 2, Adad-Nirari 3, Tiglathpalasar 3.
Islamic art collection. It consists of more than 40,000 items. Here are: tiles, ceramics, shamail, glassware, personal seals of noble persons.
Items found on the territory of the former Achaemenid Empire. This is the famous Amudarya (or Oksky) treasure. Basically, it consists of 180 silver and gold jewelry.
Library of King Ashurpanibal. It consists of 22,000 pages of clay, they are inscribed in cuneiform. An interesting tablet, which describes the Flood. This is part of the story of Gilgamesh.
Sumerian collection. These exhibits were found at the site of the city of Ur. Among them are the oldest set for a board game (the exhibit is 2600 BC) and the oldest stringed musical instrument (it dates back to 2500 BC). Of interest are two wooden panels, conventionally called the “Standart of War and Peace”. They depict battle scenes interspersed with peaceful paintings.

The permanent exhibition is presented in 13 galleries. But tourists can see only 4,500 exhibits from all available in the storerooms.

Department of Ancient History and Europe

This section exhibits finds used by prehistoric man. The periods of the Stone Age, Mesolithic, Paleolithic are covered. The collection of exhibits from the early Middle Ages is the largest in the world.

By time intervals, subdivisions can be conditionally distinguished:

Prehistoric. It covers the period from the tenth millennium BC. (figurine of lovers from Bethlehem) and before 100 BC. (hoard of silver objects from Cordoba). This stand presents jewelry, household items, dishes.
Roman period in Britain. Exhibits from the 1st to 4th centuries AD are exhibited here. It is interesting to look at the Lycurgus Cup, the glass of which changes color from red to green when the angle of light rays changes. There are wooden tablets, where the text is written by hand, a lot of jewelry made of gold and silver.
period of the early Middle Ages. The exhibits date back to the 6th-8th centuries. Basically, weapons are presented here. Items that were used in the burials of rich people, jewelry made of precious metals are exhibited. It is worth paying attention to the Franks casket: a box made in the 8th century from the bone of a whale. It is decorated with intricate carvings.
Middle Ages. The most extensive subdivision. There are items belonging to the ministers of the church (the staff of Kells), utensils (the Cup of St. Agnes, the exhibit dates from the 14th century), a golden cancer for the Savior's crown of thorns, leisure items (Lewis bone chess, dated from the 12th century), triptychs made from elephant bone.

It is noteworthy that the exhibited copies are in excellent condition.

Coca-Cola London Eye ticket £24.30
Tower of London and Royal Treasures
ticket £26.80 Tower Bridge ticket £9.80
Westminster Abbey entrance ticket and audio guide £20
Madame Tussauds ticket – £29
St. Paul's Cathedral: Fast Track Ticket – £16
Shard Skyscraper – Entrance Ticket & Champagne – £24.95

Asia Division

This section contains finds from the Asian part of the world, except for Asia Minor (this part of the collection is located in the Near East section). The period under study is wide: from the Neolithic to the present. Tourists are presented with all stages of human development through everyday items. By the way, this department has the largest collection of Japanese art in the West.

It is worth paying attention to:

It is noteworthy that the most common utensils are inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones.

Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

The basis was made up of exhibits found and presented by William Oldman, Henry Christie, Harry Beasley. They donated unique treasures to the museum. But other collectors donated or donated valuable items to the museum. Artifact collection continues today. The modern collection consists of 350,000 exhibits, which allow you to more fully imagine the life of the people of Oceania, Africa and both Americas. Some items are over 2,000,000 years old. The exhibition occupies several galleries.

The central place in the exposition is occupied by a collection dedicated to the Americas. Basically, these are artifacts dating from the 19th-20th centuries. But some of the items belong to ancient times and are associated with the life of the Maya, Aztecs, Incas. It is interesting to look at the collection of Mayan door lintels, Aztec turquoise products found in what is now Mexico.

Central Africa is represented by an excellent collection of weapons and well-preserved textiles. Bronze busts found on the territory of Benin, a brass head of the Yoruba king, a collection of gold jewelry are especially valuable items of the exhibition. On the territory of modern Jamaica, unique statues of Zemi were discovered. They are presented in the Oceania subsection.

Department of coins and medals

This is one of the largest sections of the museum. Its size is approximately 1,000,000 items. But, unfortunately, only 9000 are presented for inspection in gallery No. 68, and the rest are dispersed in other places.

Having examined the exposition, visitors will be able to answer for themselves the main questions related to money and its circulation:

Where did they first start minting coins and printing the first banknotes? What area can boast of having the world's first mint?
What is money? Has their meaning changed from the beginning of the conversion to the present day?
What are the functions of money? How was money used by politicians of previous times, is money as important today?
What tricks are used and used by counterfeiters? Why are false signs dangerous for the state? How are they tracked and withdrawn from circulation?
How, by examining coins, can one study the customs and mores of people who lived several centuries ago?

The Living Catalog service provided by the British Museum is very interesting. Any visitor can receive it. This is a digitized catalog by M. Crawford describing in chronological order the coins of the Roman Republic. Crawford described 12,000 coins, this is a serious scientific study. The museum administration believes that the catalog will help not only numismatists and students working on essays on the history of money, but also ordinary lovers of antiquities to study the life of people in the Roman period.

It is noteworthy that fresh data is constantly being added to the catalog. Photos of coins are of high resolution and excellent quality. So far, the catalog is presented only in English. True, work is underway on translations into other languages.

Department of prints and drawings

This department rivals in importance the Uffizi Gallery, the Hermitage, the Albertina Collection and the Louvre. The museum's treasury contains 2,000,000 engravings, woodcuts and 50,000 drawings (of which 30,000 are by British artists). We are especially proud of:

“The Head of the Dead Christ” by Albrecht Dürer.
“Leaf with sketches of military vehicles” by Leonardo da Vinci. The author served the Duke of Milan Sforza, developed military equipment at his request. But he himself was an opponent of wars, so in the center of the sheet he made an explanatory postscript that these machines will harm more those who use them than those against whom the technique is used.
“Naked Man with Arms Raised” by Rafael Santi. This is a variant of the sketch for the large-scale work “The Ascension of Christ”. In the figure, the author works out not only the position of individual parts of the body, but also how the light will fall.
Copper plate engraving, “Knight, Death and the Devil” by Albrecht Dürer. With the help of the play of light and shadow, the author shows that on the way to the light one will have to courageously overcome the darkness of the underworld.
“Portrait of Andrea Quaratesi” by Michelangelo Buonarotti. The author claimed that he paints portraits solely out of love, and not out of a sense of duty. This drawing is a gift for a model or a family.
“Portrait of an Englishwoman” by Hans Holbein Jr. The author managed to accurately convey the vulnerable soul of the model with the help of artistic techniques.

About 500,000 exhibits are presented in the museum's electronic database. Almost all the illustrations posted are high resolution.

famous exhibits

Some items exhibited in the museum are of particular interest:

Rosetta stone. It was the inscriptions carved on it that became the key to deciphering the Egyptian letter. They helped Champollion make a discovery.
Mummy of the priestess of Amun-Ra Katabet. Initially, the sarcophagus was made for the burial of a man. The strange thing is that all the organs of the high priestess are taken out, but the brain is left.
Fragments of sculptures of the Parthenon. This is a controversial item. In the 19th century, T. Elgin separated parts of the statues from the necropolis. Greece demands to return to it what was actually stolen.
Polynesian statue of Hoa-Hakananaya. It is considered a particularly valuable piece of the collection. The statue was brought from Easter Island. Initially, it was painted in red-terracotta colors. But now the paint has peeled off, visitors can see the natural tufa.
Fragment of the beard of the Great Sphinx. This is again a controversial item. It was dug up in Giza by Caviglia. Since the excavation was financed by the British government, the artifact was transferred to the museum.
Codex Sinaiticus of the Bible. In the 19th century, the Russian Empire bought the list from the monks of Sinai. But in 1933, the artifact was sold to the British government on the orders of Stalin. The transaction price is £100,000.

These artifacts are a must-see for visitors to the museum. But the rest of the exhibits are no less interesting.

Library

The year of birth of the library of the British Museum is considered to be 1753. It was then that Hans Sloan donated a collection of handwritten manuscripts to the newly formed institution. And rarities were purchased from Cotton and Harley. Therefore, we can assume that the initial basis of the funds was 3 private collections.

The initiative was taken up by George 2: he donated his personal library, which his ancestor, King Edward 4 of England, began to collect. At the same time, George 2 issued an edict according to which all English publishing houses had to provide 1 copy of all books published in the country. This law is still in effect today. The funds continued to grow: in 1823 King George III donated his personal collection of 65,000 books to the library. And already in 1850, the reading room opened its doors to visitors. At one time, V.I. liked to work here. Lenin and Karl Marx.

The 20th century brought another valuable addition to the funds: the Codex Sinaiticus and manuscripts from the Buddhist monastery of Dunhuang. Currently, the library works both with full-time visitors and by correspondence: it accepts orders from residents of other cities in Britain or citizens of other countries. Newspapers are presented in a separate division. Its funds comprise 50,000 magazines and newspapers received from all over the world. The library collections are currently digitized. Any citizen can enter the official website and find a source that interests him.

Opening hours and ticket prices

The museum is open to visitors daily from 10 am to half past six in the evening. There is no charge to visit the permanent exhibitions. But to visit temporary or thematic exhibitions, you will have to buy a ticket. You can book a guided tour. The current prices should be consulted on the official website of the museum. On the territory there are shops with souvenirs and coffee houses. There you can buy copies of artifacts and have a snack.

Where is it located and how to get there

Attraction address: London, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG. Tourists wishing to visit the British Museum can enter it through one of the entrances: the main Great Russell Street and the additional Montague Place. There are 4 stations around the complex, the nearest to the entrances are Tottenham Court Road and Holborn. It is convenient to get there by land transport: more than 20 bus routes pass by the museum, the most popular are: 7, 8, 19, 22b, 25, 38, 55, 98.

It is recommended to get to one of the following stops:

You can also come to the museum by bike: there are parking lots nearby.