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British Museum

At the British Museum, visitors explore galleries dedicated to the history, archaeology, ethnography and art of cultures from around the world, with collections spanning from antiquity to the present day. Among the best-known pieces on display are the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles, as well as one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities outside Cairo. The museum houses iconic objects such as Mesopotamian busts, Persian treasures, Greek sculptures and historic manuscripts, many of which are only partially displayed given the sheer size of the collection. The building features landmark spaces such as the Great Reading Room and the central courtyard covered by a glass structure, where visitors can get their bearings before exploring the themed galleries.

Things to do at British Museum: 30 missions

• Admire the Khwarezm Silver BowlA silver bowl from Khwarezm shows a four-armed goddess seated on a lion.
• Discover the Bronze Age Gold Jewellery HoardThis hoard was found at the Canaanite site of Tell el-Ajjul in Gaza.
• Discover the Round Reading RoomThe Round Reading Room was designed by architect Sydney Smirke and opened in 1857.
• Examine the Amran TabletsTablets found near Sana'a, Yemen.
• Explore the Great CourtThe Great Court has improved the flow of visitors around the museum since it opened in 2000.
• See the ceramic storage jars that held the Dead Sea ScrollsJars that held the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• Admire the Statue of IdrimiThe statue comes from the ancient city of Alalakh, in southern Turkey.
• Examine the Blau MonumentsThe Blau Monuments are a pair of inscribed stone objects from Uruk, Iraq.
• Admire the Tell Brak HeadThe Tell Brak Head is one of the oldest portrait busts from the Middle East.
• Explore the Lachish LettersThe Lachish Letters are a group of ostraca written in alphabetic Hebrew.
• Take in the Oxus TreasureThe Oxus Treasure is the largest surviving hoard of ancient Persian gold artefacts.
• Discover the Babylonian ChroniclesThe Babylonian Chronicles are a series of tablets recording important events in Babylonian history.
• See the Seated Statue of KiduduThe statue is from the Assyrian city of Assur under Shalmaneser III, in Iraq.
• See the two limestone ossuariesLimestone ossuaries from Jerusalem.
• Examine the bronze bowl and ivory cosmetic boxThe bowl and box are fish-shaped and come from Tell es-Sa'idiyeh, Jordan.
• Admire the fragment of a carved basalt architraveArchitrave with a lion's head from the Temple of Garni.
• Admire the Jar of Xerxes IThe Jar of Xerxes I is an alabaster alabastron bearing the quadrilingual signature of the Achaemenid ruler Xerxes I.
• See the Hittite lion's headThe head is from the monument to King Katuwa at Carchemish, in southern Turkey.
• Explore the group of 16 stone reliefs from the palace of King KaparaThe reliefs come from the palace at Tell Halaf, in northern Syria.
• Discover the Idalion BilingualA bilingual inscription key to deciphering the Cypriot syllabary.
• Examine the two great Assyrian stelae from KurkhThe stelae are from Kurkh, in southern Turkey.
• Examine the group of rocks with Safaitic inscriptionsRocks bearing Safaitic inscriptions from Jordan and Syria.
• Take in the gold belt buckle from the Parthian dynastyBuckle featuring an eagle figure, from Nihavand, Iran.
• Admire the group of 4 bronze shields inscribed with King Rusa IIIThis group of bronze shields bears inscriptions of King Rusa III.
• Explore the Punic-Libyan InscriptionKey to deciphering the Numidian language.
• See the Cylinder of NabonidusThe Cylinder of Nabonidus is a foundation cylinder of King Nabonidus.
• Take in the Hedwig glassesOne of the rare Hedwig glasses originated in the Middle East or Norman Sicily.
• View the Plastered Human Skull from JerichoThis skull is an early form of portraiture from Palestine (7000–6000 BC).
• Examine the basalt bowl with an inscription carved in hieroglyphic LuwianThe bowl was found in Babylon, southern Iraq.
• Explore the Treasure of Seljuk artefactsIt includes a gold cup, gilded silver belt fittings and clothing accessories.

Near British Museum

Source: britishmuseum.org