British Museum
in London England
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Rosetta Stone
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Room 4 - The Rosetta Stone, key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, 196 BC
hu
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Room 33 - Hu-shaped altar flower vessel, Ming dynasty, China, 15th -16th Centuries AD
Mummies
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Room 63 - Mummies on display in the Egyptian Death and Afterlife Galleries
Elgin Marbles
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A few of the Elgin Marbles (also known as the Parthenon Marbles) from the East Pediment of the Parthenon.
Cat
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Room 4 - Ancient Egyptian bronze statue of a cat from the Late Period, about 664–332 BC
Parthenon
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Room 18 - Parthenon marbles from the Acropolis of Athens, 447 BC
Great Court
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The Great Court opened in 2000 – the largest covered square in Europe. The Great Court roof has 3,312 glass panels. Each one is unique as the space is asymmetrical #architectureMW http://ow.ly/KMk5h
Location
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During the last Ice Age, the location of this museum would have been covered with glaciers. Where is Monty today on his #mammothadventure?
Reading Room
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Many famous authors have studied in the Reading Room: Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker!
Sutton Hoo
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Room 41 - Sutton Hoo helmet, Anglo-Saxon, England, early 7th Century AD
Enlightenment Gallery
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The Enlightenment Gallery (Room 1) opened #onthisday in 2003. The displays provide an introduction to the Museum and its collections, showing how our understanding of the world of nature and human achievement has changed over time. Find out more about it here http://ow.ly/FMLx6
Pompeii
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Room 69 - Roman gladiator helmet from Pompeii, Italy, 1st Century AD
Astrolabe
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Room 40 - Chaucer Astrolabe, the oldest dated in Europe, 1326 AD
Epic of Gilgamesh
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Room 55 - Cuneiform Collection, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq, c. 669-631 BC
Inca
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Room 2 - Miniature gold llama figurine, Inca, Peru, about 1500 AD
Mechanical Galleon
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Room 38 - Mechanical Galleon clock, Augsburg, Germany, around 1585 AD
Nereid Monument
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Room 17 - Reconstruction of the Nereid Monument, c. 390 BC
prints and drawings
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The British Museum holds the national collection of Western prints and drawings, with over 50,000 prints and 2 million drawings! You can ask to see any of the Museum's works on paper in our beautiful Study Room – it's free http://ow.ly/rr2MI
Temple of Artemis
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Room 22 - Column from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Turkey, early 4th Century BC
Wellcome Trust
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Room 24 - The Wellcome Trust Gallery of Living and Dying, with Easter Island statue in the centre
Admonitions Scroll
Room 91a - Section of the Admonitions Scroll by Chinese artist Gu Kaizhi, China, c. 380 AD
Ain Sakhri lovers
Room 2 - Ain Sakhri lovers, from the cave of Ain Sakhri, near Bethlehem, c. 9000 BC
Amaravati Sculptures
Room 33a - Amaravati Sculptures, southern India, 1st century BC and 3rd Century AD
AmitÄbha
The AmitÄbha Buddha from Hancui on display in the museum's stairwell, China, 6th Century AD
Benin brass plaques
Room 25 - Part of the famous collection of Benin brass plaques, Nigeria, 1500-1600 AD
Bodhisattva
Room 33 - Statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, gilded bronze. Nepal, 16th Century AD
BP Lecture Theatre
The BP Lecture Theatre at the museum, part of the Clore Centre for Education, 2013
Calcite-alabaster statue
Room 53 - Calcite-alabaster statue of a standing female figure, Yemen, 1st-2nd Centuries AD
Caryatid
Room 19 - Caryatid and Corinthian column from the Erechtheion, Acropolis of Athens, Greece, 420-415 BC
Chalki
Room 22 - Bronze repoussé relief from a hydria, from Chalki, near Rhodes, Greece, c. 325–300 BC
Claudius
Room 49 - Bronze head of a Roman Emperor Claudius, from Rendham in Suffolk, eastern England, 1st Century AD
Coleraine
Room 41 - Silver objects from the Roman Coleraine Hoard, Northern Ireland, 4th-5th Centuries AD
Commius
50 gold staters of Commius, Tincomarus and Eppillus, Alton, southern England, 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD
Corbridge Lanx
Room 49 - Corbridge Lanx, silver tray depicting a shrine to Apollo, northern England, 4th Century AD
Crouching Venus
Room 23 - The famous version of the 'Crouching Venus', Roman, c. 1st Century AD
Cyrus Cylinder
King of Persia Cyrus the Great entered Babylon #onthisday in 539 BC. This iconic clay cylinder, known as the Cyrus Cylinder, is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus of his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and the capture of Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king. The cylinder has sometimes been described as the 'first charter of human rights', as it describes measures of relief Cyrus brought to the inhabitants of the city after its capture. However it in fact reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms. http://ow.ly/DcZ6m
death of Buddha
Room 33 - Stone sculpture of the death of Buddha, Gandhara, Pakistan, 1st-3rd Centuries AD
Desiderius Erasmus
Renaissance medal of Desiderius Erasmus, by Quentin Massijs, Holland, 16th Century AD
Double-headed serpent
Room 27 - Double-headed serpent turquoise mosaic, Aztec, Mexico, 1400-1500 AD
Edo period
Room 90 - Courtesans of the Tamaya House, attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu, screen painting; Japan, Edo period, late 1770s or early 1780s AD
Egyptian grave
Room 64 - Egyptian grave containing the naturally-preserved body, late predynastic, 3400 BC
Enkomi
Room 72 - Necklace with gold beads in the shape of double figure-of-eight shields, spiral gold beads and cornelian beads, from Enkomi Cyprus, c. 1400-1200 BC
Fishpool Hoard
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was born #onthisday in 1396. This is one of many coins from his reign that were discovered as part of the Fishpool hoard in 1966, the biggest find of gold coins ever made in Britain. http://ow.ly/zMKwo
Gold bracelet
Room 70 - Gold bracelet set with pearls emeralds and sapphires, from Tunis, Tunisia, 3rd Century AD
Gold oak wreath
Room 22 - Gold oak wreath with a bee and two cicadas, western Turkey, c. 350-300 BC
Hamsa
Room 33 - A Hamsa sacred goose vessel made of crystal from Stupa 32, Taxila, Pakistan, 1st Century AD
Handaxe
Room 2 - mHandaxe, Lower Palaeolithic, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, c. 1.2 million years BC
Head of Asclepius
Room 22 - Colossal head of Asclepius wearing a metal crown (now lost), from a cult statue on Melos, Greece, 325-300 BC
Henutmehyt
The fine quality of Henutmehyt's funerary equipment shows that she was an individual of considerable wealth. http://ow.ly/isjG0
Hinton St Mary Mosaic
Room 49 - Hinton St Mary Mosaic with face of Christ in the centre, from Dorset, southern England, 4th Century AD
Human Headed Winged Bulls
Room 10 - Human Headed Winged Bulls from Khorsabad, companion pieces in the Musée du Louvre , Iraq, 710-705 BC
Human Headed Winged Lions
Room 6 - Pair of Human Headed Winged Lions and reliefs from Nimrud with the Balawat Gates, c. 860 BC
Hunters Palette
Room 64 - Fragmentary ceremonial palette known as the Hunters Palette, from the late predynastic period, Naqada III, c. 3250-3100 BC
Isaac Cruikshank
Isaac Cruikshank - 'The happy effects of that grand system of shutting ports against the English!!', 1808
Ivory hand
Room 57 - Ivory hand from the Fosse Temple at Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir), Canaanite, Israel, about 1400-1200 BC
James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler - View of the Battersea side of Chelsea Reach, London, (lithograph), 1878
Jehu
Room 6 - Depiction of the hypocrite, Jehu, King of Israel on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Nimrud, c. 827 BC
Kang Hou Gui
Room 33 - Western Zhou bronze ritual vessel known as the "Kang Hou Gui", China, 11th Century BC
Ladakh
Room 33 - Figure of seated Lama; of painted and varnished papier-mâché, Ladakh, Tibet, 19th Century AD
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci - The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist (prep for 'The Burlington House Cartoon'), c. 1499–1500
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Room 21 - Fragmentary horse from the colossal chariot group which topped the podium of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Turkey, c. 350 BC
Metopes
Room 18 - Parthenon statuary from the east pediment and Metopes from the south wall, Athens, Greece, 447-438 B.C
Ming dynasty
Room 33 - An assistant to the Judge of Hell, figure from a judgement group, Ming dynasty, China, 16th Century AD
Mound City
Room 26 - Stone pipe representing an otter from Mound City, Ohio, USA, 200 BC - 400 AD
Mughal Empire
Portrait of Ibrâhîm 'Âdil Shâh II (1580–1626), Mughal Empire of India, 1615 AD
Nebuchadnezzar II
Room 55 - Panel with striding lion made from glazed bricks, Neo-Babylonian, Nebuchadnezzar II, Southern Iraq, 604-562 BC
Nectanebo II
Ceiling of the Great Court and the black siltstone obelisks of Nectanebo II, c. 350 BC
Nimrud Ivories
Room 57 - Carved ivory object from the Nimrud Ivories, Phoenician, Nimrud, Iraq, 9th–8th Century BC
Ninhursag
Room 56 - Statue of Kurlil, from the Temple of Ninhursag in Tell al-`Ubaid, southern Iraq, c. 2500 BC
Nubkheperre Intef
Room 63 - Wooden coffin of pharaoh Nubkheperre Intef of Egypt's 17th dynasty, 1600 BC
obelisk of King Nectanebo II
Great Court - Black siltstone obelisk of King Nectanebo II of Egypt, Thirtieth dynasty, about 350 BC
Oxus Treasure
Room 52 - A chariot from the Oxus Treasure, the most important surviving collection of Achaemenid Persian metalwork, c. 5th to 4th Centuries BC
Percival David
Collector of Chinese porcelain Sir Percival David died #onthisday in 1964. You can see a free display of almost 1,700 beautiful Chinese ceramics he collected in Room 95 http://ow.ly/pDzx2
Perugia
Room 71 - Silver panels with repoussé reliefs overlaid with electrum foil, Etruscan artwork, Castel San Marino, near Perugia, central Italy, 540–520 BC
Peter Paul Rubens
Artist Peter Paul Rubens died #onthisday in 1640. Here's his magnificent drawing of a lioness http://ow.ly/xqvub
Queen of the Night relief
Room 56 - The famous Babylonian 'Queen of the Night relief' of the goddess Ishtar, Iraq, c.1790 BC
Queen Puabi
Room 56 - Gold cup from Queen Puabi's tomb in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Mesopotamian artwork, c. 2600-2400 BC
Ram in a Thicket
Room 56 - The 'Ram in a Thicket' figure, one of a pair, from Ur, Southern Iraq, c. 2600 BC
Royal Gold Cup
Room 40 - Royal Gold Cup or Saint Agnes Cup, made in Paris, France, 1370–80 AD
San AgustÃn
Room 2 - Stone tomb guardian, part human part jaguar, from San AgustÃn, Columbia, c. 300-600 AD
Sculpture of the god Imdugud
Room 56 - Sculpture of the god Imdugud, lion-headed eagle surmounting a lintel made from sheets of copper, Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-`Ubaid, Iraq, c. 2500 BC
Sharjah
Hoard comprising 78 Persian silver coins from Sharjah in United Arab Emirates, late 17th Century AD
Spinario (Boy with Thorn)
Room 22 - Roman marble copy of the famous 'Spinario (Boy with Thorn)', Italy, c. 1st Century AD
Standard of Ur
Room 56 - The famous 'Standard of Ur', a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace, from Ur, c. 2600 BC
statue of the Buddha
Room 33 - Gilded bronze statue of the Buddha, Dhaneswar Khera, India, 5th Century AD
Tall al-Ajjul hoard
Room 57 - Gold jewellery from the Tall al-Ajjul hoard, Canaanite, Palestine, about 1750-1550 BC
Thailand
Room 33 - Covered hanging jar with underglaze decoration, Si Satchanalai (Sawankalok), north-central Thailand, 14th-16th Centuries AD
The Creation of Man
Michelangelo - Studies of a reclining male nude: Adam in the fresco 'The Creation of Man' on the vault of the Sistine Chapel, c. 1511
Thebes
Room 62 - Detail from the mummy case of Artemidorus the Younger, a Greek who had settled in Thebes, Egypt, during Roman times, 100-200 AD
Tomb of Nebamun
Room 61 -The famous false fresco 'Pond in a Garden' from the Tomb of Nebamun, c. 1350 BC
totem poles
Great Court - Two house frontal totem poles, Haida, British Columbia, Canada, about 1850 AD
Virgin and Child
Room 40 - Ivory statue of Virgin and Child, who is crushing a dragon under her left foot from Paris, France, 1310-1330 AD
Wandsworth Shield
Room 50 - Wandsworth Shield, Iron Age shield boss in La Tène style, England, 2nd Century BC
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