The British Museum is the main museum of Great Britain and one of largest museums in the world. Founded in 1753, opened in 1759. The magnificent museum building, stylized in Greco-Roman classicism, was built over 24 years by the architect Robert Smirk. It was originally opened as a collection of antiquities from the countries of the Ancient East (Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Assyria) but on this moment the museum also contains many drawings, engravings, medals, coins and books related to the most different eras, including antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The library of the British Museum contains over 7 million printed books, about 105 thousand manuscripts, about 100 thousand charters and documents, over 3 thousand papyri. Entry to the British Museum is free. A funny curiosity: the museum’s staff includes six cats working as rat catchers. Since 1926, the British Museum has published a quarterly magazine, British Museum Quarterly.
The British Museum in Bloomsbury (London) was created in 1753 on the basis of three collections - the collection of the famous British physician and naturalist Hans Sloan, the collection of the statesman and Earl of Oxford Robert Harley, and the library of the antiquarian Robert Cotton. Sir Hans Sloane Robert Harley Sir Robert Cotton. Base
The museum contains 10 sections, including - Prehistoric - Egyptian - Greek - Roman-British - Medieval - Renaissance - Oriental - Numismatics The Numismatics section includes coins and medals of various countries and eras, including ancient Greek, ancient Roman and Persian, etc. , as well as the royal collection of King George IV.
The extensive ethnographic collections of the British Museum contain cultural monuments of the peoples of Africa, America, Oceania and others. The zoological, botanical, geological and mineralogical sections were transferred in 1882 to a branch - the Natural History Museum in South Kensington.
Many of the museum's acquisitions (such as the Rosetta Stone) came to England under dark circumstances. Greece and Egypt, from which ancient monuments were removed, still demand their return. In the 19th century, the British Museum experienced a particularly rapid period of growth. The collection was divided into departments and fully classified. In the first half of the 20th century, the museum expanded its collections of Middle Eastern art through numerous excavations in Mesopotamia by British archaeologists.
The British Library Initially, one of the main treasures of the museum was its library, the largest in the UK. It arose in 1753 on the basis of the book collection of Sir Hans Sloane, which included Anglo-Saxon and Latin medieval manuscripts acquired by him from Robert Cotton and Robert Harley. King George II supported the initiative and donated the royal library to the museum, and with it the legal deposit right of all books published within Great Britain. The reading room of the British Museum has been located since the 1850s in a separate rotunda building, where Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin worked. In the 20th century, the library received the oldest printed books and Buddhist manuscripts from Dunhuang, the Codex Sinaiticus from Leningrad and an exceptionally complete collection of Hebraistic texts. In 1972, the British Parliament decided to separate the library from the museum, placing it in a separate building. Thus the British Library was born.
Codex Sinaiticus Bible List of Bibles on Greek, with incomplete text Old Testament and the complete text of the New Testament. Currently considered the oldest uncial parchment manuscript of the Bible. Along with other ancient manuscripts, Codex Sinaiticus is used by textual scholars for constructive or summary criticism in order to restore the original Greek text of the Bible. The Codex was discovered by the German scientist Constantin von Tischendorff in 1844 in the Sinai Monastery. The Codex Sinaiticus, along with the oldest papyri, as well as the Alexandrian, Vatican and some other ancient codices, is one of the most valuable sources allowing textual scholars to reconstruct the original text of the New Testament books.
Ancient Egypt and Nubia - Rosetta Stone - Largest collection of mummies and sarcophagi outside of Cairo - Giant stone sculptures of Egyptian pharaohs (including "Memnon the Younger" from the Ramesseum) - Obelisk of Pharaoh Nectanebo II - Piece of the beard of the Great Sphinx - Abydos list of pharaohs - 95 of 382 tablets of the Amarna Archive - Mathematical Papyrus of Ahmes. Pearls of the collection:
A granodiorite slab found in 1799 in Egypt near the small city of Rosetta (now Rashid), not far from Alexandria, with three identical texts engraved on it, including two in the ancient Egyptian language - inscribed in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and Egyptian demotic script, and one in ancient Greek. Rosetta stone The text of the stone is an inscription of gratitude, which in 196 BC. e. Egyptian priests addressed Ptolemy V Epiphanes, another monarch from the Ptolemaic dynasty. The stone is a fragment of a large stele. Subsequent searches did not turn up any additional fragments. Due to damage, none of the three texts is not absolutely complete. The Greek text contains 54 lines, of which the first 27 are preserved in full, and the rest are partially lost due to a diagonal chip in the lower right corner of the stone.
The Abydos list was found in the area now called Arabat el-Madfune, on the left bank of the Nile, by the French Consul General Milio. Here, in the ancient temple of the city of Abtu (Abydos), Ramesses II inscribed an inscription in which he pays honor to his ancestors. There were up to fifty names of all the ancestors, but no more than thirty of them survived; There are twenty-eight repetitions of the cartouches of Ramesses himself. This list is a selection from the entire series of Ramesses’ ancestors, made arbitrarily or for some reason not accessible to us; the beginning of this table has not been preserved. Counting the ancestors of Ramesses, the list suddenly moves from the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty to the kings of the 12th dynasty, as if connecting these dynasties. Next on the list are 14 cartouches of more ancient pharaohs. The Table of Abydos helped Champollion place the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty and later served as a guide for Lepsius to identify the kings named Amenemhet and Senwosret with the kings of the 12th dynasty of Manetho. The Abydos Table was thoroughly analyzed by the scientists Deveria and Rouget. A list listing the names of the pharaohs, from the temple of Ramesses II.
The Ahmes Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian textbook on arithmetic and geometry from the Middle Kingdom, rewritten c. 1650 BC e. by a scribe named Ahmes on a papyrus scroll 5.25 m long and 33 cm wide. The papyrus includes conditions and solutions to 84 problems and is the most complete Egyptian problem book that has survived to this day. Moscow mathematical papyrus, located in State Museum fine arts named after A.S. Pushkin, is inferior to the Ahmes papyrus in completeness (it consists of 25 problems), but surpasses it in age. It has been established that the original from which the Ahmes papyrus was copied dates back to the second half of the 19th century BC. e. ; the name of its author is unknown. Some researchers suggest that it could have been compiled on the basis of an even more ancient text from the 3rd millennium BC. e.
The Amarna Archive The Tel El Amarna Archive is a collection of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the government of Ancient Egypt and its representatives in Canaan and Amurra during the New Kingdom. The correspondence was discovered in Amarna (the modern name of the capital founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten in Upper Egypt). Among the writing systems, Akkadian cuneiform predominates, although it is the script of ancient Mesopotamia rather than ancient Egypt. To date, 382 tablets are known. The Amarna correspondence was compiled primarily in Akkadian, which served as the language of international communication in the Middle East during the New Kingdom. The archive was discovered by local residents in 1887. The finds were secretly removed and sold to antique dealers. The first archaeologist to undertake a systematic investigation of the site of the discovery of the correspondence was William Flinders Petrie in 1891-1892. Under his leadership, 21 fragments of correspondence were discovered. Emile Chassina, who headed the French Institute of Oriental Archeology in Cairo, found 2 more tablets in 1903.
Ancient East The largest collection of Mesopotamian antiquities outside of Iraq: - Standard of war and peace from the Sumerian city of Ur - One of the Ur harps and the board game of the Ur king - “Rams in the thicket” - paired figurines 4500 years ago - Prism of Sennacherib, Nabonidus cylinder and cylinder Kira - Collection of bas-reliefs from Nimrud, Nineveh, Dur-Sharrukin - Cuneiform archive of Ashurbanipal, including a clay tablet describing the flood - Black obelisk of Shalmaneser III - Oxus treasure from the territory of modern Afghanistan - Balavat Gate of Shalmaneser III
The Standard of War and Peace is a pair of inlaid decorative panels discovered by Leonard Woolley's expedition during excavations of the Sumerian city of Ur. On each of the plates, on a lapis lazuli background, scenes from the life of the Sumerians are laid out in three rows with mother-of-pearl plates. The artifact dates back to the mid-3rd millennium BC. e. Dimensions 21.59 by 49.53 cm. Standard of War and Peace “War” “Peace”
Prism of Sennacherib A hexagonal clay prism found among the ruins of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Height - 38 cm, width - 14 cm. Created during the reign of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Dated 691 BC. e. Manifesto of Cyrus The Cyrus Cylinder is a clay cylinder on which Cyrus the Great ordered a list of his victories and merciful deeds, as well as a listing of his ancestors, to be engraved in cuneiform. The artifact was discovered during excavations in Babylon in 1879 and entered the British Museum. The cylinder became widely known after the last Shah of Iran in the 1960s proclaimed the text on it to be the first ever declaration of human rights: Cyrus advocates the abolition of slavery and freedom of religion. The Shah promised to build his policy in accordance with the behests of the founder of the Persian state.
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III The Black Obelisk is a 198 cm high obelisk, carved from black limestone by order of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III and installed in Nimrud ca. 825 BC e.
Oxus treasure A collection of 170 gold and silver objects dating from the Achaemenid period (from 550 to 200 BC), found in 1877 in the ruins of an ancient settlement on the banks of the Amu Darya (Oxus) River in modern Tajikistan (Ancient Bactria). Kept in the British Museum. Contains 1300 coins, vessels, figurines, bracelets, medallions, plaques, magnificent gems. The products of the Amudarya treasure reflect the traditions of Achaemenid art, as well as local Greco-Bactrian art and the Scythian “animal style”.
Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome - Elgin Marbles from the Acropolis of Athens - One of the six caryatids of the Erechtheion - Fragments of the frieze of the temple of Nike Apteros - Sculptural frieze of the Temple of Apollo in Bassae - Fragments of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum: statues of Mausolus and Artemisia, frieze depicting the Amazonomachy - Monument of the Nereids from Xanthus - Excavation materials from the Palace of Knossos - Antiquities collected by Townley from Hadrian's Villa, including the Discobolus - Warren Cup, Lycurgus Cup and Portland Vase
An unrivaled collection of ancient Greek art, mainly from the Acropolis of Athens, which was brought to England in early XIX century by Lord Elgin and is now kept in the British Museum. Lord Elgin, being the British ambassador in Constantinople during the Napoleonic wars, after long negotiations with the Turkish government, began collecting fragments of ancient Greek art (mostly plastic). Elgin Marbles The Turkish government, which showed no interest in the masterpieces of antiquity, allowed the export of everything collected by Elgin to London. This took 10 years - from 1802 to 1812, and part of the cargo sank off the island of Kiethera in 1804, but was subsequently raised to the surface. In 1806, Elgin returned to his homeland, and for 10 years the collection remained his private property, after which it was purchased by the state and placed in the British Museum.
Temple of Nike Apteros (that is, wingless victory) An ancient Greek temple on the Athenian Acropolis, located southwest of the Propylaea. Built by Callicrates in 427-421 BC. e. according to the project of 450 BC. e. The temple is dedicated to Athena Nike. The building is an amphiprostyle with two Ionic porticoes of four columns. The stylobate has three steps. The continuous Ionic frieze depicted episodes of the Greco-Persian Wars and the gods Athena, Poseidon and Zeus. The temple is made of marble. Inside stood a statue of Athena, holding a helmet in one hand and a pomegranate in the other, a symbol of victorious peace.
Statue of Mausolus Mausolus is a virtually independent ruler (satrap and king) of Caria from the Achaemenids in 377-353. BC e. He took part in the uprising of the satraps of Asia Minor against Artaxerxes II, but withdrew from the fight in time to avoid defeat. He moved the capital of Caria from ancient Milas to coastal Halicarnassus, thereby emphasizing his intention to expand the boundaries of his possessions at the expense of the nearby Greek islands. He managed to subjugate part of Lycia and some Greek cities of Ionia. In order to extend his influence to Rhodes and Kos, he supported the islanders in the Allied War with Athens. Mausolus’ admiration for Hellenic culture allows us to consider him the most important forerunner of Hellenism. They flourished at his court greek arts and science. His sister and wife Artemisia III appointed a reward to the one who would compose the best word of praise in honor of Mausolus. Naucrates, Isocrates, Theodect and Theopompus took part in the composition of this epitaph; The last one won. The same Artemisia built a magnificent Mausoleum in honor of her husband in Halicarnassus, a funerary monument ranked among the wonders of the ancient world.
Lycurgus Cup The only diatret with a figured pattern that has survived from antiquity. It is a glass vessel 165 mm in height and 132 mm in diameter, presumably of Alexandrian work of the 4th century AD. e. Exhibited in the British Museum. The uniqueness of the cup lies in its ability to change color from green to red depending on the lighting. This effect is explained by the presence of tiny particles of colloidal gold and silver (approximately 70 nanometers) in the glass in a ratio of three to seven. The gilded bronze rim and the foot of the vessel represent later additions from the Early Empire era. Portland Vase When an attempt was made in the 19th century to make an exact likeness of it, the work (for which a £1,000 premium was awarded) turned out to be so labor-intensive that art historians concluded that it would have taken at least two years to create the original. The high-quality glass cutting technique is noteworthy - evidence of the extraordinary talent of the glass cutter. The cameo figures he created are difficult to interpret based on our knowledge of ancient Roman mythology. One of the groups for a long time was described as Peleus and Thetis, the other as Hecuba’s prophetic dream about the destruction of Troy, but there are other, no less plausible interpretations. The Portland Vase is an exceptional work from the Hellenistic era.
Great Britain and Continental Europe—The Ringlemere Cup—The Drape of Mold—The Man of Lindow—The Vindolanda Tablets—Franks' Casket—Sutton Hoo Materials—Chess from the Isle of Lewis—Charles V's Gold Cup—Reliquary for the Crown of Thorns—Numerous Anglo-Saxon Treasures
Ringlemere Cup A corrugated gold vessel from the Bronze Age, discovered in a mound at Ringlemere Farm near Sandwich in the British county of Kent in 2001. The author of the find is amateur archaeologist Cliff Bradshaw, who explored the area using a metal detector. Although the goblet was heavily damaged by a plow, it is clear that its original height was 14 cm. The goblet is reminiscent of ceramic goblets from the Late Neolithic Corded Ware culture, but dates from a much later period. Only 5 similar cups have been discovered in Europe (for example, the Rillaton cup, discovered in Cornwall in 1837). All these finds date back to the period between 1700-1500. BC e. It is assumed that the cup was not a funeral gift, but belonged to votive offerings not associated with burials, and was placed in the mound around 1700-1500. BC e. No contemporary burials were found near the find, but several later Iron Age burials were found, as well as an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.
The cape from Mold is a product made from a single sheet of gold, dating from approximately 1900-1600. BC e. Belongs to the Bronze Age of Europe. Discovered in Mold, Flintshire, north Wales, in 1833. Apparently it was part of a ceremonial robe. The cape was placed on the body of the person buried in a rough stone sarcophagus in the mound. Along with the cape, the remains of coarse fabric and 16 fragments of sheet bronze were found, which apparently represented the base of the cape: in some places, gold sheets were attached to the bronze with rivets.
Lindow Man This is the name given to a man who died during the Iron Age and was discovered in the Lindow peat bog near the village of Mobberley, Cheshire, UK. It is one of the best preserved bog bodies and one of the most sensational archaeological finds made in Britain in the 1980s. In order for the police to agree to hand over the body to archaeologists, it was necessary to establish that it belonged to ancient man. Scientists from the UK's Atomic Energy Research Institute radiocarbon dated bone fragments from Lindow Man and revealed on August 17 that he died at least 1,000 years ago. Secondary research has given a more accurate dating, determining that his death occurred in 20 - 90 AD. e. Multiple and varied wounds led scientists to believe that the Lindow man died during a Druid ritual sacrifice.
Franks's Casket A carved box made of whalebone. It was found during excavations in France near the city of Clermont-Ferrand and transferred to the British Museum by the English antiquarian Frank. An inscription bordering scenes from ancient Germanic, Roman and biblical tales carved on the Franks runic casket is the most significant of the early Anglo-Saxon runic monuments.
Isle of Lewis Chess 78 medieval walrus tusk chess pieces that were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis off the coast of Scotland along with 14 backgammon checkers and a belt buckle. There is an assumption that “the figures were used not only for chess, but also for playing hnefatafl. Made in the 12th century by Norwegian carvers, apparently from Trondheim, where similar artifacts were found.
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Story
The British Museum was created in 1753 on the basis of three collections - the collection of the famous British physician and naturalist Hans Sloan, the collection of Earl Robert Harley, and the library of the antiquarian Robert Cotton, which became the basis of the British Library. The creation of the museum was approved by an act of the British Parliament.
Slide 3
In the first half of the 20th century, the British Museum expanded its collections of Near Eastern art through numerous excavations in Mesopotamia by British archaeologists. The section of Far Eastern art owes the most valuable part of its collection to A. Stein and P. David. Since 1926, the British Museum has published a quarterly magazine, British Museum Quarterly. At the end of the 20th century, the interior space was redeveloped according to the design of Norman Foster.
Slide 4
Initially, one of the museum's main treasures was its library, the largest in the UK. The reading room of the British Museum has been located since the 1850s in a separate rotunda building, where Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin worked. In the 20th century, the library received the oldest printed books and Buddhist manuscripts from Dunhuang, the Codex Sinaiticus from Leningrad and an exceptionally complete collection of Hebraistic texts. In 1972, the British Parliament decided to separate the library from the museum, placing it in a separate building. Thus the British Library was born. Library
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Masterpieces
Rosetta Stone Museum was originally conceived as a collection of antiquities of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Along with archaeological finds and objects of art that were brought to London from all over by colonial agents of the British Empire, the museum was replenished with drawings, engravings, medals, coins and books from various eras.
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Pearls of the collection Standard of War and Peace from the Sumerian city of Ur one of the Ur harps and the board game of the Ur king “Rams in the Thicket” - paired 4500-year-old figurines the prism of Sennacherib, the cylinder of Nabonidus and the cylinder of Cyrus a cup from Ringlemere a cape from Mold a man from Lindow tablets from Vindolanda Franks' casket excavation materials at Sutton Hoo chess from the Isle of Lewis golden cup of Charles V reliquary for the Crown of Thorns numerous Anglo-Saxon treasures
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Slide 2
History The British Museum was created in 1753 on the basis of three collections - the collection of the famous British physician and naturalist Hans Sloane, the collection of Earl Robert Harley, and the library of the antiquarian Robert Cotton, which became the basis of the British Library. The creation of the museum was approved by an act of the British Parliament.
Slide 3
In the first half of the 20th century, the British Museum expanded its collections of Near Eastern art through numerous excavations in Mesopotamia by British archaeologists. The section of Far Eastern art owes the most valuable part of its collection to A. Stein and P. David. Since 1926, the British Museum has published a quarterly magazine, British Museum Quarterly. At the end of the 20th century, the interior space was redeveloped according to the design of Norman Foster.
Slide 4
Initially, one of the museum's main treasures was its library, the largest in the UK. The reading room of the British Museum has been located since the 1850s in a separate rotunda building, where Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin worked. In the 20th century, the library received the oldest printed books and Buddhist manuscripts from Dunhuang, the Codex Sinaiticus from Leningrad and an exceptionally complete collection of Hebraistic texts. In 1972, the British Parliament decided to separate the library from the museum, placing it in a separate building. Thus the British Library was born.
Slide 5
Masterpieces Rosetta Stone The museum was originally conceived as a collection of antiquities of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Along with archaeological finds and objects of art that were brought to London from all over by colonial agents of the British Empire, the museum was replenished with drawings, engravings, medals, coins and books from various eras.
Slide 6
Standard of war and peace from the Sumerian city of Ur one of the Ur harps and the board game of the Ur king “Rams in the Thicket” - paired 4500-year-old figurines the prism of Sennacherib, the cylinder of Nabonidus and the cylinder of Cyrus a cup from Ringlemere a cape from Mold a man from Lindow tablets from Vindolanda a casket Franks excavation materials at Sutton Hoo chess from the Isle of Lewis golden cup of Charles V reliquary for the Crown of Thorns numerous Anglo-Saxon treasures
Museums of London
Presentation prepared
Tanyanskaya Lidiya Ivanovna
English teacher
Museums of London
There are a lot of various museums in London.
They tell the story of London and its people.
In you can see 44 massive columns and the reading room of the British Library. Also it is containing Britain’s most important collection of ancient art, writings, coins, drawings. The British Museum was opened in 1753. The Museum regularly organizes exhibitions in special halls.
Only in London will you have the chance to visit the fictitious address of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson .
The Science Museum is a famous museum in SW London, housing collections that illustrate the history and development of science, engineering and industry, with many working models.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is a famous museum in South central London.It is named after Queen Victoria and her husband. It was opened in 1851.
In one of the halls of the Victoria and Albert Museum you can see collections of sculpture, watercolors,miniatures and a large library.
The National Gallery is an art gallery in Trafalgar Square, which contains the largest permanent collection of western paintings in Britain, most of which were painted between 1200 and 1900. It was opened in 1824.
The Tate Gallery is one of London’s best known art galleries, opened in 1897. It contains a unique collection of British paintings from the 16th century to the present day, as well as modern foreign paintings and sculpture.The Gallery also regularly holds special exhibitions.
The museum of Madam Tussaud's is a famous waxworks museum in London, opened in 1835 by Marie Tussaud(1760-1850).It contains wax figures of famous characters in both history and contemporary life.
The Natural History Museum is a museum in London which is open to the public.It has 68 million specimens of animals, plants and minerals. It is famous for its collection of the bones of dinosaurs. It was opened in 1881.
The Museum of London is a museum of London from prehistoric times to the present day,opened in 1976.
The London transport Museum contains a large collection of buses, trams and carriages of tube. It is very popular for children.
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The British museum.
The British Museum, in London, is widely considered to be one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million works, is among the finest, most comprehensive, and largest in existence and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. The British Museum, in London, is one of the world's largest museums of human history and culture. The museum's largest collection, containing approximately eight million works, is the most beautiful, comprehensive, and the largest of all existing ones, originating from all continents, illustrating and documenting the history of human culture from its beginnings to the present day.
The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753). During the course of his lifetime, Sloane gathered an enviable collection of curiosities and, not wishing to see his collection broken up after death, he bequeathed it to King George II, for the nation. At that time, Sloane's collection consisted of around 71,000 objects of all kinds including some 40,000 printed books, 7,000 manuscripts, extensive natural history specimens including 337 volumes of dried plants, prints and drawings including those by Albrecht Dürer and antiquities from Egypt, Greece , Rome, the Ancient Near and Far East and the Americas. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. The British Museum was established in 1753 and is largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753). Throughout his life, Sloane amassed an enviable collection of curiosities and, not wanting to see the collection broken up after his death, he bequeathed it to King George II and the state. At that time, the Sloane collection consisted of approximately 71,000 different objects, including approximately 40,000 printed books, 7,000 manuscripts, extensive specimens of stuffed animals, birds, as well as 337 herbariums, printed editions of works of art from Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, products of medieval masters of Europe and Asia, collections of coins and medals, drawings, engravings, ethnographic collections. In December 1753, an act of parliament was adopted to found the British Museum, and on January 15, 1759, the museum received its first visitors to Montagu House in Bloomsbury.
The British Library The British Museum Reading Room, located in the center of the Great Court of the British Museum, used to be the main reading room of the British Library. Antonio Panizzi, the Keeper of Printed Books, had the idea of constructing a round room in the empty central courtyard of the Museum building. With a design by Sydney Smirke, work on the Reading Room began in 1854. Three years later it was completed. A number of bookstacks were built surrounding the new Reading Room. They were made of iron to take the weight of the books and protect them against fire. In all they contained three miles (4.8 kilometres) of bookcases and twenty-five miles (forty kilometres) of shelves. The Reading Room"s domed roof is metal framed in segments, and the surface that makes up the ceiling is a type of papier-mâché. The British Museum Reading Room is the main hall of the British Library and is located in the center of the Great Court of the British Museum. Construction of a round room in the empty central courtyard of the Museum building was the idea of the Keeper of Printed Books - Antonio Panizzi and the designer Sidney Smirk. Work on the Reading Room began in 1854 and was completed three years later. The Reading Room is surrounded by many shelves for books. They were made of iron, supporting the weight books and protecting them from fire.In total - three miles (4.8 kilometers) of bookcases and twenty-five miles (forty kilometers) of shelves.The domed roof of the Reading Room is metal and created in segments, the surface of which is made like papier-mâché.
Departments of the british museum. Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan 2. Department of Greece and Rome 3. Department of the Middle East 4. Department of Prints and Drawings Drawings) 5. Department of Prehistory and Europe (Department of Prehistory and Europe) 6. Department of Asia (Department of Asia) 7. Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas (Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas) 8. Department of Coins and Medals ( Department of Coins and Medals 9. Department of Conservation and Scientific Research 10. Libraries and Archives
Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan The Rosetta Stone statue of Amenhotep III Bust of Ramessest II The British Museum houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities, over 100,000 pieces, outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A collection of immense importance for its range and quality, it includes objects of all periods from virtually every site of importance in Egypt and the Sudan. Together they illustrate every aspect of the cultures of the Nile Valley (including Nubia), from the Predynastic Neolithic period (c. 10,000 BC) through to the Coptic (Christian) times (12th century AD), a time-span over 11,000 years.The British Museum houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities, over 100 000 objects, not counting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. This collection of enormous importance and quality includes objects from all periods and touches virtually every important site in Egypt and the Sudan. Together they illustrate every aspect of the cultures of the Nile Valley (including Nubia) and span a period of more than 11,000 years.
Department of Greece and Rome (Department of Greece and Rome) The British Museum has one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of antiquities from the: the Greek collection includes important sculpture from the Parthenon in Athens, as well as elements of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis. The Department also houses one of the widest-ranking collections of antiquities and extensive groups of material from Cyprus. The collections of ancient jewelery and bronzes, Greek vases and Roman glass and silver are particularly important.The British Museum has one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of antiquities: the Greek collection includes an important sculpture from the Parthenon at Athens, elements of two sculptures from the Seven Wonders Ancient World, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and Temple of Artemis. The Department also houses extensive groups of material from Cyprus, collections of ancient jewels and bronzes, Greek vases, Roman glass and silver of special importance.
Today the Museum preserves its universality in its collections of artefacts representing the cultures of the world, ancient and modern. The original 1753 collection has grown to over thirteen million objects at the British Museum, 70 million at the Natural History Museum and 150 million at the British Library. As part of its very large website, the museum has the largest online database of objects in the collection of any museum in the world, with 2,000,000 individual object entries, 650,000 of them illustrated, online at the start of 2012. There is also a " Highlights" database with longer entries on over 4,000 objects, and several specialized online research catalogues and online journals The Museum today Today the Museum maintains its versatility in its collections of artifacts representing the cultures of the world, ancient and modern. The original 1753 collection has grown to over thirteen million objects (70 million in the Natural History Museum and 150 million in the British Library). As part of a large website, the museum has the largest database of objects online (2,000,000 individual entries and 650,000 of them illustrated by early 2012). There is also a "Highlights" database with older entries on more than 4,000 objects, and several specialized online catalogs and online journals.