London has a tremendous public transport system. It is the envy of every other city in the UK. My advice is to avoid using it. This has nothing to do with its efficacy. It’s simply that you will miss so much if you choose not to walk between places. London is crammed with history and the only way to benefit from serendipitous encounters with these places is to walk, rather than sitting  on a bus or an underground train. It was with this mindset that I decided to walk to the British Museum from King’s Cross; it was only a 20 to 30 minutes plod and the journey may well have taken longer on public transport. 

Barely had I departed from King’s Cross station when I came across the British Library. The building holds 2 of the 4 surviving original 1215 versions of the Magna Carta. If I had time, I might pay a visit to see them on the return to King’s Cross on my last day. A little further down Euston Road, I came across St Pancras Church.  It had some interesting caryatids (stone statues) on its north and south sides and I was tempted to go inside for a perusal. London is full of these temptations, but I knew I didn’t have time if I wanted to give the British Museum some reasonable attention.  I would leave the church for another day. In the small park of Tavistock Square, I came across a cross-legged Ghandi. The chap had studied law at nearby University College London before starting a career at the bar at the Inner Temple. Russell Square was a lot bigger and had a wonderfully decorated Christmas tree near its centre. The British Museum buildings were just a stone's throw away from the square and it seemed to take an age to walk around the museum's perimeter to the main public entrance on Great Russell Street. I joined the queue for the baggage security check. 

The Great Court

Thankfully the security team were satisfied in only shining a torch into my rucksack crammed with 5 day’s worth of clothes. I departed the tented area dedicated for the inspection and headed towards the main entrance. And what a grand entrance! It was a  massive, classical Greek styled mass of stone columns and friezes. I hoped the inside was as impressive as its exterior. 

‘BLOODY HELL.’ I thought this rather than bellowed it. I think…although, I can't really be certain. In terms of providing a ‘WOW’ factor, this centrepiece entrance to the British Museum has to be at the top (or thereabouts) of the world list of amazing buildings. I’d walked from a grey, dismal London day into a dazzling,  airy auditorium of white light and marble. It was absolutely stunning. I was marginally aware of other people walking around me as I stood still and studied this amazing place. I’d expected to walk into a fusty, dimly lit entrance hall, not all this amazing light and space. I managed to pull myself together a bit, extracted my bottom jaw from the marble floor and started to take a tour of this magnificent building. 

The museum covered a large area, consisting of many buildings around a large, square courtyard. There was a large, round building at the centre of the courtyard (spoiler alert: there's another ‘WOW’ factor  coming up in a minute). In themselves, these structures would be very impressive. What makes this inner quadrangle (known as the Great Court) so astounding is that this huge area is covered by glass windows that cast a white light down onto the floor below. The framework for the glass has obviously been designed by a 3 dimensional Spirograph. The whole structure covers about 2 acres and seems to defy gravity. The design for the Great Court was by Norman Foster (and his minions) and was built in the 1990s at a cost of about £100 million. There weren’t actually many artefacts displayed in this huge space. There were a few statues, two very tall totem poles, a café, gift shop and some information desks. The Great Court was basically the hub of the British Museum; a central point, a reference point from which to travel to the rest of the buildings. I decided to take a closer look at the very centre of this hub…the Reading Room. 

Reading Room

‘BLOODY HELL!’ Yes, the Reading Room elicited in me the same reaction as the Great Court. It was stunning. This gigantic, round room was completed in 1857. I say room, but it was really a massive hall. As one might expect for a reading room, the walls supported thousands of books, over 3 levels. Arranged in concentric circles were the reading areas with leathered desks and hooded lamps. It was a huge area, seeming even larger due to the huge open space under the domed ceiling. Large windows ran around the circumference of the hall, casting plenty of light into the space. Apart from the entrance area to the Reading Room, the rest of the place was out of bounds to the public. This was a shame since I would have loved to have sat at one of those desks and read a book or two. Plenty of other notables had made use of this facility including Karl Marx, Mohandas Gandhi, Vladimir Lenin, Sylvia Pankhurst, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Bam Stoker, Beatrix Potter and the great George Orwell. It was time to move on. I’d entered the British Museum 20 minutes ago and I’d not really seen any artefacts yet. I needed to get a wiggle on.

British Museum

British Museum is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, there were plenty of British artefacts on display, but the majority of the items were from foreign lands. A lot of these have been gifted to the museum by legitimate means, but some arrived in a more nefarious manner. This can be troublesome from a moral perspective; especially when countries start asking for these items back. Personally, I think the purpose of a museum is to share knowledge. If items are displayed in a safe, accessible and informative way, then I think there is a greater good to humanity in displaying important artefacts in places like the British Museum.

The museum was arranged into geographical and historical areas: Africa, Americas, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, Europe and Middle East. There were also arrangements of certain Themes such as: Enlightenment, Collecting The World, Living and Dying, Clocks and Watches, Money and Prints and Drawings. I tried to mentally arrange some sort of schedule across the 3 floors and the different areas. There were definitely some things I wanted to see in the museum, but my brain started to fizzle with all the different options. In the end, I just decided to drift through the museum and graze on the displays, pausing whenever something caught my interest. I may miss one of the things I wanted to see, but I’m a big believer in serendipity and would probably find more things without trying.

Ancient Egypt

I walked into the Ancient Egypt area and the first display contained the Rosetta Stone. That’s the real Rosetta Stone, not a plaster cast. This stone slab has the same text inscribed in hieroglyphic, Demotic (everyday Egyptian script)  and ancient Greek. This text was discovered by French soldiers in 1799 near the town of Rosetta in Egypt and was the key in deciphering hieroglyphics. That wasn’t a bad start; I’d ticked one off my ‘must-see’ tick list already.

The scale of the number of artefacts in the British Museum is breath-taking. It can feel a little overwhelming. I spent an hour or so walking amongst stone statues of pharaohs, mummies, masks and sarcophagus. Some of the stone statues were huge, their scale making them impressive. Often though, I would find the smaller artefacts, such as ornaments or caskets, the more endearing. Such an example was a diminutive figurine of a Swallow. The Egyptians believed the bird stood for strength because of their nature. There was also a play on words too.  The ancient Egyptian writing system gave the swallow the sound value of wr, used to spell the word ‘great’ or ‘strong.’ As might be expected, there were many examples of mummies. These weren’t always human though. I came across a mummy of a young bull and a cat. I was quite intrigued by a single necked flask that was shaped like a pair of lungs. The two containers represented breasts and were buried with the dead to nourish them in the afterlife. 

Ancient Greeks And Rome

I drifted from Ancient Egypt to Ancient Greece and Rome. I rather liked a tiny pottery figurine (2400-2000 BC) created near the Euphrates. The figure appeared to be a woman with a rather distinctive face. She could almost have been a Dickensian character. I was drawn to a fish plate displaying a painting of 3 sea-perch and 3 limpets (340-320 BC). I saw a plate almost identical to this in the Hancock Museum in Newcastle last year. Maybe the plate was mass produced, back in the day. There were plenty of amphoras on display. They really are beautiful items and I like to try and interpret their stories  from the red and black,  stylised drawings displayed on their sides. Apparently the creators of this art weren’t considered ‘artists’ which seems odd since they were clearly gifted. 

There were a few helmets on display and not just on the naked, male statues. The Murmillo helmet (1-100 AD) was quite a beast. The bronze contraption weighed a massive 3.5kg and one wonders whether it was more of a hindrance than an advantage. Originally, it would even have had plumes attached which I reckon might a have caused even more problems when fighting. Above the brim of the helmet was  a small bust of Hercules, the embodiment of bravery. Although some gladiators were slaves or criminals, many were professionals who trained to be a specific type of gladiator. 

The Meroe Head once formed part of a bronze statue to emperor Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD). The head left an unsettling impression since it has glass and stone eyes making it more life-like.  It was found at Meroe in Sudan after it had been looted by the Kushites. It had been ritually buried in front of a temple. In this way visitors to the temple would step on the emperor’s head, a sign of extreme disrespect. Fortunately all those feet didn’t cause much damage. 

I was rather intrigued by a large statue  (1st century BC or AD) that looked like a naked woman carrying out a handstand (although in reality it was more of a shoulder stand) on the back of a crocodile. I had to read the backstory about this and the associated note informed me that it did indeed depict a member of the Tentrytae tribe of Egypt who were famous for diving onto the backs of crocodiles in the Nile. It seems odd that such a tradition hasn’t persisted to the present day. 

I rather liked a tiny Roman  terracotta model of a mule carrying two trays loaded with cheeses (300-100 BC). It was such a simple and basic ornament, but care had been taken to form the cow’s head and it had a certain charm (well, it had for me). 

Most of the friezes and statues were given their own galleries. The most impressive was perhaps that of the Nereid Monument (390-380 BC). This was a Lycian tomb found at Xanthos (near modern day Turkey). The temple has been rebuilt at one end of a gallery although the actual positioning of the items on display apparently is up for debate. I wish I could have spent more time viewing and interpreting the stories on these friezes, but there were many of them and it would have required more time than I had available. I had to satisfy myself by taking photos that I’d be able to peruse and research at a later time. 

Europe

I travelled from eastern to western Europe. Perhaps the highlight of these galleries were the artefacts from the Sutton Hoo discovery. The British Museum website says: ‘The internment of a ship at Sutton Hoo represents the most impressive medieval grave to be discovered in Europe.’ The burial site was discovered in 1939 revealing the iconic helmet, weapons and gold artifacts which gave great insight into that Anglo-Saxon period. The helmet is quite imposing and is only one of four intact ones found. There is a replica of the helmet displayed next to the original, but the real thing looked good enough to me. The helmet consists of an iron cap with a crest, neck-guard, cheek-pieces and face-mask. It was originally covered with tinned coppery alloy panels, and decorated with animal and warrior motifs. Viewed together the helmet’s mouth, nose and eyebrows form the image of a flying beast. 

The Europe galleries contained many items from ‘hoards’ that had been found in Britain. One of these displays was the Fishpool hoard which contains the largest hoard of medieval gold coins ever discovered in Britain. There were 1237 coins with nine pieces of jewellery. The latest English coins in the collection suggests the hoard was buried around 1464 after the Battle of Hexham in Northumberland. It may have been hidden by a Lancastrian supporter fleeing the battle. Somebody must have felt a bit poorer later on. 

I was quite attracted to a painted shield. It was ornamental rather than used in battle and showed a lady wearing a Flemish pointed headdress and a young knight kneeling at her feet. The skeletal figure of death lurked behind him. The legend on the scroll above his head reads: ‘vous or la mort’ (‘you or death’). It suggests that the knight would rather die than prove unworthy of his lady’s love. Hmmm…rather you than me, mate. 

Another on my ‘must-see’ list were the Lewis chessmen. These pieces were discovered on the Isles of Lewis in 1831. It consisted of 93 pieces and included 78 chessmen, 14 large gaming counters and an elaborately carved belt buckle. Originally, one side was painted in red. Unfortunately, most of the set had been loaned out to a Norwegian museum. Even so, there were some pieces (including the King, Queen, Bishop, Knight and Pawn), together with some other medieval ones on show to give a flavour of these wonderful game pieces. The pieces were made of ivory and whale teeth. This was a very hard material and had to be worked with metal tools by the craftsmen. I noted that the Lewis King and Queen didn’t look particularly happy. In fact, they reminded me of the glazed looks that the Kapitan and the Cabin Boy portray when they sit on the sofa watching some dross on TV. 

There were of course plenty of Roman items on display in the Europe section too. I was captivated by the Corbridge Lanx (lanx is Latin for ‘tray). This was a large silver tray and was found by nine year old Isabel Cutler on the bank of the River Tyne at Corbridge near Hadrian’s Wall, in 1735. I passed through Corbridge on my Hadrian’s Wall Path trek a couple of years ago. I’m not sure what reward Isabel got for finding the tray, but the Duke of Northumberland acquired it, and it was finally presented to the British Museum in 1993. There was an intricate engraving on the tray that depicted Apollo standing at a shrine's entrance with a lyre at his feet. His twin sister Artemis, the hunter goddess, can be seen entering from the left. The helmeted goddess with her arm raised was Minerva. The academic chin-rubbers can’t agree on the location or the other characters. 

Themed Galleries

I wandered from Europe into themed galleries. These were a treasure trove too and I wished I’d had more time to peruse these items. There were many curiosities, including some more modern items such as the book of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Its associated note suggested that the book was an allegory for the debate about whether the US should adopt a bimetallic standard instead of a gold standard. The character of the cowardly Lion supposedly symbolises William Jennings Bryan, leader of the ‘free silver’ campaign. Dorothy’s shoes in the book are silver, not red, as depicted in the 1939 film. Well, I would never have guessed that. 

Another item in the ‘Money’ gallery that made me chuckle was a Banksy £10 note that had the face of Princess Di printed, rather than the Queen. I guess that's his knighthood down the drain.

I could have spent a lot more time in the Clocks And Watches gallery.  I was intrigued by the ‘Rolling Ball’ clock. It was designed by Sir William Congreve in 1820. The contraption kept time by letting a steel ball roll down the channels on a tray, much like the ball bearing rolling down the ‘rickety steps’ on the Mouse Trap game. It took 30 seconds for the ball to roll from top to bottom and then the tray would tilt the other way and the process would start again. It was a poor time keeper, but the process would undoubtedly keep you entertained on the balls 2,500 miles journey each year. 

There was an interesting ‘Clock Ship’ on display (around 1585). The medieval galleon was intended to announce banquets at court. The entertainment began with music from a miniature organ inside the hull, some drumming and a procession.  Afterwards the ship would travel across the table. When it stopped, as a grand finale, the front cannon would automatically fire, lighting a fuse that would fire the other guns. It would have been nice to have had a demonstration of this, but the machine remained dormant.  

A more sedate automation clock was of a milkmaid and cow (around 1600). The standing farmer indicated the time with his staff. The cow’s eyes move back and forth, and when a switch was set, the milkmaid ‘milks’ the cow. There was a reservoir inside the cow, the contents of which were emitted from the udder as she moved her arms up and down. Again, the clock remained dormant whilst I was there.  

Americas

Time was really pressing now. I had the briefest of tours of the Middle East galleries. The Africa Galleries would have to wait for another day. My final tour was of the Americas galleries. My favourite items here were of some Maya lintels (770 AD). These were from the Yaxchilan Structure and depicted visions of bloodletting. I’m pretty glad I didn’t live during those times.

The last item I viewed was the Hos Hakananai’s Easter Island statue. Hakananai’s means ‘stolen or hidden friend.’ Its eyes were originally inlaid with red stone and coral and the figure itself painted with red and white designs. It was an impressive way to end the tour of the British Museum. 

Reflections

The British Museum was far, far better than I expected. It wasn’t just the  thousands of impressive items on display, but the magnificent building too. The museum covers a huge area, both physically and intellectually and the more time you can spend there, the greater you’ll gain from the experience. I'd recommend spending a full day at the museum. There were so many artefacts that I found that some of the ‘famous’ items just get lost in the mass of displays. It would be a mistake to just concentrate on the larger items though, since there were many smaller curiosities that were worthy of attention. The galleries were very well presented with the information boards and notes both useful and unobtrusive. I’m sure I’ll visit the place again in the future and I’ll definitely dedicate a full day to make the most of it. 

It had been a dramatic, but perfect start to my 5 day London campaign. I walked out of the dazzling Great Court into the darkness of a winter’s late afternoon. A light rain was giving London a clean. I could catch the Tube over to the Premier Inn at Blackfriars, but I decided to walk instead. I wouldn’t see much given the darkness, but it would give me a chance to stretch my legs after the slow walk around the galleries.