The British Museum

I almost can't quite believe that I've lived in London for well over 10 years now and had never stepped foot inside the British Museum until last week.  I suppose it's a case of 'it'll-always-be-there-itis'.

So, to rectify this, I popped along to see what I could see.  The Museum is located close to both Tottenham Court Road and Holborn stations.  The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the place.  Massive.  And a bit overwhelming.  We weren't particularly time-limited, but you know how it can be as you shuffle along in museums with hoards of other people... it's tiring.  So the first thing we did was to pick up a map from the stunning main room - the Great Court.

Thankfully, I had taken with me someone who was competent to read the map.  We decided that since we weren't sure how long we would last, we would follow the suggested 1 hour route with items A-K marked on the map, to see the main pieces that were suggested by the museum and this takes you through a large number of the rooms.  Along with being distracted by other things in there, I think we probably spent around 2 and a half hours comfortably pottering around, but I would recommend it as a good route to follow if you've never visited before.  It was busy, but never felt claustrophobic.

Overall, it was definitely worth the visit, some very interesting pieces, and I discovered a particular fondness for Shields, Mosaics and also the Japanese rooms (rooms 92-94, don't miss them, they are all the way up at the top!), but there really is something to interest everyone.

If you can't get to London to visit the museum in person, do take a look around their website, where a large number of the main objects are photographed and catalogued.

A selection of my favourite pieces from the museum, the ones that stood out to me:

1. Bronze Mirror: Perseus observing the severed head of Medusa while Hermes and Athena look on:

 2. Panels from the Royal Lion Hunt showing the sporting exploits of the last Assyrian King, Ashurbanipal.  These were huge carvings filling massive rooms... very impressive!

 3. A reconstruction of the Nereid Monument

 4. Enormous Mosaic of Oceanus

5. The Portland Vase, made of Cameo glass.  Said to be the Roman inspiration for Wedgwood, and although it looks black, the glass is actually dark blue.

6. Royal Game of Ur.  Even with the instructions written there next to it, just too hard to figure out! Bonus points for my favourite name of an object in the museum.

7. Samurai items in a large case.

8. A beautiful shield

 9. Iron age shield, again, really beautiful craftsmanship.

10.  Bronze Shield