5 Things You Can't Miss at The British Museum
Thousands of artefacts, dozens of rooms - where should you start at the British Museum? Here are some ideas!
By Google Arts & Culture
Welcome!
No visit to London is complete without stopping by the British Museum
. The collection is vast, and stretches all the way back to the first humans
. So to help guide your next visit, we've chosen 5 unmissable exhibits. Click, drag, and use the arrows to explore them all!
Assyrian Winged Lions
These colossal stone beasts
would have induced awe and provided protection at the entrance to the Palace of Ashurnasirpal
in Nimrud, modern-day Iraq. Interestingly, the one on the right has an ancient board game scratched into its pedestal, perhaps by a bored palace guard?
Greek Vases
Escape the crowds in this quiet corner of the British Museum. Classical ceramics might not be everyone's cup of tea, in fact, many visitors simply skip this room. But these carefully crafted vases and wine jugs provide an eye-opening insight into Greek aesthetics.
Arctic Collection
The Arctic collection of the British Museum may not be the largest, but it is one of the most fascinating. The objects on display, from drums and knives to waterproof jackets and ritual objects , show the rich material culture of Arctic people.
Dog-sled (uniek) British Museum
This dog sledge
, or uniek,
made by Aleut people of the Alaskan peninsula, some time before 1855, shows the woodworking and construction skills of this Arctic culture. Driftwood sledges such as this allowed the Aleut to travel far over the ice, in search of valuable furs.
Nereid Monument
Next-door to the better-known Parthenon galleries is this monumental tomb from Xanthos in Lycia, then part of the Persian Empire. This structure shows how Greek aesthetics were already diffusing eastwards by the 4th century BCE.
Bonus: The Parthenon Marbles
No visit would be complete without seeing the Parthenon gallery. The bas-relief frieze that runs around the gallery, and the sculptural arrangements of gods and goddesses that mark each end, are considered the pinnacle of Classical Greek sculpture, and the pride of the museum.
La Primavera (Spring) (1481 - 1482) by Botticelli Filipepi Uffizi Gallery
Still in the mood for discovering cultural treasures? Explore the Uffizi Galleries .
