British Museum, London, England

Jun 25, 2023 | England, Museum

British Museum is one of the largest and most comprehensive museums dedicated to human history, art, and culture.

British Museum: Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG

The British Museum was established in 1753 and opened its doors to the public in 1759.

The museum houses a vast and diverse collection of over eight million objects from all continents, covering a span of more than two million years of human history. The collections include artifacts, artworks, manuscripts, and specimens from various cultures and civilizations, such as ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Walking to the museum

The museum

Rosetta Stone. 

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 in the town of Rosetta (modern-day Rashid) in Egypt during the French occupation.

It bears an inscription in three different scripts: hieroglyphic, demotic (a simplified form of ancient Egyptian script), and Greek.

The inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone were decrees issued in 196 BCE by King Ptolemy V of Egypt. The texts were essentially the same, but written in three different scripts to ensure wider understanding among the population.

The significance of the Rosetta Stone lies in the fact that it provided the key to understanding hieroglyphs. At the time of its discovery, scholars were able to read ancient Greek, so the Greek portion of the inscription served as a starting point for decipherment.

The decipherment of hieroglyphs opened up a wealth of knowledge about ancient Egyptian civilization and its history. It provided valuable insights into their religion, culture, and daily life. The Rosetta Stone itself remains a significant artifact and is housed in the British Museum in London, where it has been on display since 1802.

Egyptian artifacts on the first floor.  There are much more Egyptian artifacts on the other floors, but I did not have time to get to them.

The Assyrian’s artifacts

Greek Artifacts

Parthenon Sculptures.  These artifacts are what Greece wants back from the museum.

American Artifacts

African Artifacts

About the first money

Old Clocks and Watches

Medieval Europe

Ancient Middle East Civilization

Ancient Library

What I posted here is just a part of the museum.  I did not have time to visit Asia, more Egyptian, England, and other museum sections.  One more day would be required to cover the rest of the museum, but I don’t know if I have time.