British Museum - Part 2

The British Museum is most well known for its exhibits. It tells the story of human civilisation from the beginning to the present. Here are the most popular including my favourite.

The Rosetta stone helped scholars in the 19th century at extended last crack the code of the hieroglyphics. In 1799 French army engineers ( who were part of Napoleon's Egypt campaign) discovered the slab while making repairs to a fort near a town named Rosetta. This artefact, came into the hands of the British after they defeated the French in 1801. Archaeologists also discovered proof of the Hittite people that were mentioned in Biblical writings.

The Elgin Marbles are a collection of stone pieces removed from the ruins of the Ancient Greek Parthenon In the 19th Century. The term "Elgin" refers to the Seventh Lord Elgin gathered during his time as an ambassador to the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul. This has been a source of the great controversy between Modern Britain and Greece.

Apart from the Rosetta stone, other Egyptian objects, including Pharaohs, represent its three millennia of history.

The colossal granite statue of the famous King Ramesses II ( about 1250 BC)

It's actually an upper part of a statue. It was quarried at Aswan at almost 124 miles and carved from one block. It weighs about 20 tonnes. Like all Egyptian statues, it was originally painted.

The colossal granite head of King Amenhotep II ( about 1370 BC)

He commissioned several statues of himself during his reign, especially for his temple in Thebes, then Egypt's capital. It was a time of great artistic refinement. The complete structure showed him striding.

Limestone List of Kings ( about 1270 BC)

Monumental lists of Kings and Queens were used to prove the ruler's legitimacy. This list comes from the temple of King Ramesses II. The rulers are represented by their throne names, written in oval 'cartouches'. Rulers deemed unimportant or illegitimate were omitted from the list.

The length is 135 centimetres and the length is 170 centimetres. It comprises 34 names.

And last but not least, my personal favourite...

The Lindow Man

For some reason whenever I would go to the museum especially when I was younger, I always find this very intriguing. Maybe because I thought that one day I could find out the mystery cause of his death, it is a preserved body discovered in a peat bog near Wilmslow, Chesire, England. The remains were found on the 1st of August 1984. He died a violent death before being placed into the pool. It comprises a severed right leg which is 440 millimetres long.

Sources: British museum website, Britannica