What to Check Out on your British Museum Walking Tour
The British Museum located in London is one of the most famous museums in the world. This wonderful establishment has a lot to offer visitors, and there is enough stuff inside that it would take close to a week just to decently check out everything. The ideal British Museum walking tour would provide glimpses of all the highlights which comprise everything that makes the place worth visiting. One plus point is that the British Museum does not charge an entry fee – you could be in the area and just pop in randomly, provided it is showing hours of course. Below are some of the attractions you really should not miss if you happen to have time to kill.
The Great Court
The Great Court of the British Museum was actually opened by Queen Elizabeth II in December 2000. It is in this beautiful inner courtyard that the renowned Reading Room is placed. It looks stunning during most weathers with its spectacular glass roofing. Many temporary exhibitions are usually hosted in this area.
Nereid Monument
This beautiful monument can be seen in Room 17 on the main floor, and is a replica of the Lykian tomb you can see at Xanthos in the southwest region of Turkey. The original tomb’s architecture drew influence from the temples on the Acropolis built in ancient Athens, and features a blend of Lycian and Greek iconography. You see all of that in the ersatz reconstruction at the London Museum.
Tomb of Ur Helmet
It is in the south of Mesopotamia (Iraq and Kuwait of recent times) that the legendary city of Ur is located. The place is situated next to the Persian Gulf’s ancient coastline. During an excavation stretching from 1927 to 1932 led by Sir Leonard Wooley, they discovered a one-of-a-kind cemetery which had tons of graves in it. Most of the ones they uncovered were those from the beginning of the Dynastic period. About a quarter-share were given over to the British Museum, and these you can now see on the upper floor in Room 56, along with a copy of Meskalamdug’s golden helmet from 2600 B.C.
Elgin Marbles/Parthenon Sculptures
The Elgin Marbles can be seen in Room 18 on the main floor. These Parthenon sculptures are from the Acropolis in Athens. The Parthenon in Athens was actually built during a period that lies between 447 and 438 B.C. However, by 1687, when Athens was under the hands of the military, they needed the place to store gun powder, and the sculptures were transferred to the British Museum by 1816.