Where Was The Collection Housed
The museum’s collections were first housed in a 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, which was extensively refurbished before it opened to the public in 1759. As the collections grew, new galleries were added to the original building.
Soon, the need for space was so great that Montagu House began to be demolished in 1823 to make way for Sir Robert Smirke’s much bigger Greek Revival style building that we know today. The Enlightenment Gallery was the first wing to be built, to house King George IIIs library and the colonnaded portico through which visitors still enter the museum completed the building in 1852. Sir Richard Westmacott designed the sculptures in the pediment above the entrance to reflect the ‘progress of civilisation’ as conceived by Victorians at a time when British confidence and global power through imperial expansion was growing.
The latest technology has always been integrated into the construction of the building, including the soaring dome of the Round Reading Room and the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court which encloses it that was designed by Foster and Partners . We continue to expand and develop the museum site in response to current needs and opened the World Conservation and Exhibition Centre in 2013.
Purpose Of The British Museum
Since it was first founded, the British Museums main goal has been to provide the public with access to exhibits that span over two million years. It also aims to provide a place where people from different cultures can learn from each other.
The museum hosts many classes on world history for both children and adults, designed to provide an interesting and educational experience for visitors of all ages.
Sutton Hoo Mask And Ship Burial Collection
Location: Room 41 Upper Floor
Discovered in 1939, the Anglo-Saxon artefacts discovered at Sutton Hoo are perhaps the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in Britain. The Sutton Hoo collection includes this incredible and iconic ornate mask as well as hundreds of other items found well preserved over 1,500 years in 20 burial mounds.
A guided tour of the Ancient Britain section of the British Museum inspired our visit to the site of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk north of London.
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Henon Marbles And Sculptures
Originally from the Parthenon in Athens, 2,500 years old Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Athena.
The marble pieces are also known as Elgin Marbles and were made under the guidance of the Ancient Greek sculptor and architect Phidias.
The marble collection includes a 75 meters long frieze picturing the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. Another half of this frieze is still in Athens, displayed in the Acropolis Museum.
It was removed from Parthenon by orders of Earl Elgin, who was a British ambassador in the Ottoman Empire, hence the name Elgin Marbles, alongside sculptures from the Propylaea and Erechtheum between 1801 and 1812 and sent to Britain with the pretext that he had received an official decree to do so.
After that, the Marble pieces were sold to the British government, which later gave them to the British Museum.
Even after issuing his own defense in 1810, the legality of Earls Elgin actions though is still disputed nowadays by the international community and the British Museum.
Location: Room 18.
Top Tip: To learn more about the British Museum and its pieces, I do suggest following their Youtube channel. Check the Curators Corner series, it is my favorite, which episode a different Curator tells about one piece. Some of them are not even on display, so it is the only chance to see what they keep behind the walls!
Sutton Hoo Ship Burial Helmet
This helmet is only one of four intact helmets from Anglo-Saxon England. It was discovered at the Sutton Hoo ship burial, one of the most important archaeological sites in Britain. It’s believed to have been part of a king or rich noble’s collection. And, unfortunately, restoring the helmet to its current glory was difficult as it had shattered. However, it was later reconstructed to reveal its imposing mask and distinctive shape. Marvellous!
So, there you have it. That’s our list of the best things to see at the British Museum. Now, you should have no trouble getting all of it in during a single visit.
Looking for more culture in London? Go see the history of astronomy unfold at the Royal Observatory or take a walk around St. Paul’s Cathedral.
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Things Not To Miss At The British Museum
We’re excited to be reopening after our longest peacetime closure, so you can discover or rediscover two million years of human history!
As part of the new Museum experience, we have created a one-way route around the Ground floor galleries that lets you safely enjoy incredible objects from cultures around the world.
As well as more than 9,000 objects from the collection on display, you can also see two contemporary art installations along the route Grayson Perry’s The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman and Edmund de Waal’s library of exile. Plus, there’s a new object trail exploring the relationship between collecting and empire.
Here’s our list of 14 things that you won’t want to miss.
1. Rosetta Stone
The key that unlocked ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone is one of the Museum’s most famous objects.
Once part of a larger stone slab, it is inscribed with a decree carved into it. The decree in itself is not particularly unusual, but as is written in three types of writing hieroglyphs, Demotic and Ancient Greek, meant that experts could use it to finally decipher hieroglyphics. This unlocked the world of ancient Egypt, from understanding its ancient history to beliefs in the afterlife
4. Grayson Perry’s The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman
5. Crouching Venus
7. The Ife Head
Department Of Coins And Medals
The British Museum is home to one of the world’s finest numismatic collections, comprising about a million objects, including coins, medals, tokens and paper money. The collection spans the entire history of coinage from its origins in the 7th century BC to the present day and is representative of both the East and West. The Department of Coins and Medals was created in 1861 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2011.
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Aztec Serpent Room 27
In a cabinet at the back of the Room 27 youll find a colorful double-headed serpent. The work is made from a single piece of cedar and covered in tiny turquoise mosaics.
The serpent is an icon of Aztec art. Its an image used in Mexican religious iconography. It may have been used in religious ceremonies.
The striking object was probably worn on ceremonial occasions. Its fang-like teeth are made from conch shells and its gums and nose from red oyster shell.
Top Exhibits And Galleries
The British Museum is huge and features tons of fascinating exhibits and galleries. When you get to the museum, spend a few minutes studying a map of the museum to give you an idea of where everything is located.
Start your visit by viewing the famous Rosetta Stone. This iconic exhibit is located in Room 4 in the Egyptian gallery, which is right near the entrance of the museum. While youre there, be sure to check out the Mummy of Katabet, a mummy with an elaborate headdress and real rings.
You also wont want to miss the Ancient Greece and Rome Galleries. These galleries are on the ground floor, and they contain ancient sculptures, vases, exhibits on Alexander the Great, and more.
The most famous sculptures in this gallery are the stunning Elgin marble Parthenon sculptures. Youll find these sculptures in Room 18.
If youre interested in European history, head to the British Museums European galleries. There, youll see objects dating back to Medieval Europe.
One of the most famous exhibits in this part of the museum is the Lewis Chessman set. These 82 chess pieces date back to the twelfth century, and theyre made out of walrus ivory and whale tooth.
The European rooms also feature antique clocks and watches, Italian Renaissance-inspired vases, and twentieth century Art Nouveau pieces.
You can also learn more about Middle Eastern history in the Middle Eastern galleries. These galleries include pieces from Ancient Iran, Ancient South Arabia, and Mesopotamia.
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British Museum Guided Tour And Activities
The museum offers several free guided tour options including daily 30-40 minute talks on sections of the collection. I have taken several tours of the ancient British galleries and learnt so much from the experience.
The tour guides are volunteers trained to give you a fascinating overview of the British Museum must see attractions. Taking tours has become a mini passion of mine. If you have the time I highly recommend taking one of the museum.
If you have limited time and prefer a small group experience, you might like to join Liv Tours British Museum Tour expertly led by an art historian who can uncover its treasures in 2 hours.
An Audio guide app is also available in 5 languages for £4.99
These are some of my favourite British Museum highlights and facts. How many have you seen?
Sutton Hoo Ship Burial Room 41
In 1937, an Anglo-Saxon ship dating from around A.D. 600 was discovered. The ship may have been the elaborate burial place of an Anglo-Saxon king. Its the most important early medieval grave discovered in Europe.
The burial chamber contained an astonishing treasure trove, including gold jewelry, Byzantine silverware, a magnificent casket, and an iron helmet.
The Sutton Hoo Helmet is one of only four surviving helmets from the period. Its made of iron and covered with copper panels that show a range of animal and warrior motifs.
Its a rather menacing face-mask that gives the impression of a flying beast. Originally, it had copper eyebrows inlaid with silver and garnets, ending in a silver boars head.
The helmet you see has been carefully reconstructed. But theres also a replica on display that shows what the original would have looked like.
You can watch a documentary on Netflix, The Dig, which revisits the astonishing discovery.
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How To Get To The British Museum
The museum is located on Great Russell Street in the Bloomsbury district of London. Its very easy to get there on the London Underground. Simply take the Central or Northern line to Tottenham Court Road.
From there, its just a five minute walk. There are also many buses that stop near the British Museum. Check out the full list of transportation options here.
The British Museum is a highlight of any trip to London. No matter what part of history youre interested in, youre sure to find exhibits that youll love in the museum.
When youre putting together your London itinerary, be sure to schedule a day there.
Department Of Ancient Egypt And Sudan
The British Museums department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan is one of the biggest collections of Ancient Egyptian art in the world. Only the Egyptian Museum in Cairo has a bigger collection. They cover Egyptian and Sudanese history from around 10000 BC all the way to the 12th century AD, a period of around 12,000 years.
Around 150 of the objects in the Egyptian department were part of the first collection which was given to the Museum by Hans Sloane in 1753. In 1801 the British defeated the French, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, at the battle of the Nile. After the battle, British forces took lots of Ancient Egyptian artifacts from the defeated French. They were given to the British Museum in 1803. These objects included the famous Rosetta Stone.
The department continued to get bigger, paying for archaeologists to go to Egypt and Sudan. They did this until 2001 when the Egyptian government made it much harder for Museums to take historical artefacts back to their own country. The collection now has over 110,000 exhibits.
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What To See At The British Museum
Definitely take or time wandering through the corridors, despite the huge collection, it doesnt take much to visit it completely.
Even if you dont have much time to admire each artwork and artifact of the British Museum, make sure to at least check the British Museum artworks below, they will definitely make your visit worthy!
Department Of Greece And Rome
The British Museum has one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections of antiquities from the Classical world, with over 100,000 objects. These mostly range in date from the beginning of the Greek Bronze Age to the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, with the Edict of Milan under the reign of the Roman emperorConstantine I in 313 AD. Archaeology was in its infancy during the nineteenth century and many pioneering individuals began excavating sites across the Classical world, chief among them for the museum were Charles Newton, John Turtle Wood, Robert Murdoch Smith and Charles Fellows.
The Greek objects originate from across the Ancient Greek world, from the mainland of Greece and the Aegean Islands, to neighbouring lands in Asia Minor and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean and as far as the western lands of Magna Graecia that include Sicily and southern Italy. The Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean cultures are represented, and the Greek collection includes important sculpture from the Parthenon in Athens, as well as elements of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos.
Highlights of the collections include:
- Tomb of Payava,
- Bilingual Decree of Pixodaros,
Temple of Zeus, Salamis in Cyprus
- Marble capital with caryatid figure standing between winged bulls,
Wider collection
Etruscan
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Hoa Hakananaia Moai Statue
Photo: Jaroslav Moravcik/Shutterstock
For centuries, the people of Rapa Nui built and erected colossal statues out of basalt on the coastline of their island to house the spirits of ancestors. Hoa Hakananaia, built between 1000 and 1200 AD, is one of those monoliths, and its been on display in the British Museum since 1869. About seven feet tall, the statue is a simple yet extremely impressive carving. Visitors should make sure to check out the back of the statue, which bears symbols significant to the birdman religion, the cult that used to dominate the island.
Allegedly given to the officers of the British Ship Topaze by the people of Rapa Nui in the 19th century, Hoa Hakananaia is today the center of much controversy. Spiritually important to the traditional inhabitants of Rapa Nui, they are now imploring the British government for its return.
Where to find it: In room 24 in the Africa, Oceania, and the Americas department on the ground floor. Straight ahead if you enter via Montague Place, straight on and just beyond the Great Court if you enter from Great Russell Street.
Amazing British Museum Highlights And Facts
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In my opinion, a trip to London is not complete without a visit to one of its many museums and galleries and arguably the best museum in the world is the British Museum.
With a collection of around 8 million objects preserving human history, culture and art across almost 2 million years, the museum is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the history of humankind.
I made this list to help readers know what the must see British Museum attractions are. I have also included a few interesting facts and tips for visiting one of my favourite London museums.
Want to delve deeper into the treasures of the British Museum? Join a small group guided tour with an art historian >
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Living And Dying Gallery
Ground floor, Room 24
This gallery deals with life and death and how different cultures deal with staying healthy. Our favourite display is the large glass case in the middle of the room. On closer inspection youll recognise many pills and medicines the display shows how much an average British person will consume during their life!
Easter Island Statues
The next most obvious object is a Moai, which originally stood in the Orongo stone village. The statue was surrounded by its companions, all stood with their backs to the sea, watching over the island and its inhabitants.
Gifted to the museum by Queen Victoria, after being presented to her by a Naval explorer, the presence of the statue again causes controversy. The indigenous people of Easter Island claim that the statue was plundered during colonial times and it should be returned as it forms part of their heritage.
Many museums counter this argument by explaining that the presence of such artefacts in museums not only ensures their preservation but also makes them accessible to more people. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, wed recommend you make the most of easy access to these famous objects from the ancient world.
British Museum Opening Hours And Tickets
The British Museum hours are from 10.0017.30 daily and until 20.30 on Fridays. Note the museum is closed on closed 24, 25 and 26 December, 1 January and Good Friday.
British museum tickets: Free. Advance bookings are recommended book your timeslot here. There is no charge to enter the British Museum and view the main collection however you may need to pay to view special exhibitions and a small donation is encouraged.
Tip Be prepared to queue to enter the museum. There are strict security measures in place. You may not bring large items of luggage to the museum.
More information on the British Museum website
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