London is a city full of museums of all kinds: big and small, flashy and elegant, historical and fun. Of them all, however, the British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury district of the Camden district, will always stand out as the grand master. His exhibits dwarf all others.

The British Museum celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2003. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1753 and was based on the collections of Sir Hans Sloan; Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford; and Sir Robert Cotton. Montagu House, Great Russell Street, was his first home, although the present building was built on the same site between 1823 and 1852. It has undergone several subsequent additions and alterations. The Reading Room, the quiet study of the likes of Karl Marx, Virginia Woolf and Thomas Carlyle, was built in the 1850s.

But the British Museum caused a sensation in the early 19th century when it dared to put the Elgin Marbles on display. The Marbles were actually ancient Greek carvings and friezes cut from the Parthenon in Athens and other ancient buildings; they were sent to England by Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord Elgin, British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1799-1803). This was controversial; Lord Byron and other public figures taunted Elgin for stealing the marbles, while the ladies swooned at the sight of the carved genitalia (later covered with vine leaves). But after an investigation by Parliament, it was concluded that Lord Elgin had probably saved the Marbles from being destroyed through negligence and malice. Although controversy continues today over who owns the Marbles, there is no doubt that Lord Elgin probably did the world a real favor when he bought the Marbles.

In addition to the Marbles, the British Museum houses the Rosetta Stone, the key to reading ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs; the Black Obelisk of Calah and Nineveh; gold, silver, and shells from Ur; the treasure of the Sutton Hoo ship from the famous burial place; and Chinese ceramics from the Ming dynasty. You can find items here from all corners of the former British Empire and from many archaeological sites in England itself.

But the British Museum is much more than a repository of ancient things. It is also one of the largest libraries in Britain. Until around 1997, half of the holdings of the National Library were stored in the museum. The Reading Room has recently been refurbished, with a new reference collection and state-of-the-art computer systems. You can visit the Great Court, a two-acre glass-domed cultural center within the museum. Another new edition is the Ethnographic Galleries, collections on life in Africa, Asia and the Americas. And finally, if you get tired of history and culture, you can visit the shops and restaurants inside the Museum.

If you visit the British Museum while in London, arrive early; it is as big as many shopping malls. Spend your first hour or two wandering the halls and looking at everything. Later, focus on the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Greek sections; they are the homes of the most fascinating collections of the British Museum. Huge winged lions that once guarded Assyrian palaces now guard the gateways to these collections. In the Egyptian section, you can find the Rosetta Stone, as well as mummies and a fantastic collection of Egyptian tomb treasures. In the Nimrud Gallery, you’ll find royal propaganda reliefs (some things never change in Iraq!) and wounded lions.

But the best section of all is the Greek section. Starting with the simplest and most primitive Cycladic fertility figures (the fat little women with exaggerated feminine features), moving on to the painted vases and finally to the great Elgin Marbles, the Greek section really gives you an insight into the vast history that belongs to Greece.

To properly appreciate the Elgin Marbles, be sure to read all the orientation material available in the introductory rooms between Rooms 7 and 8.

The Museum is open most days, but is less crowded on weekend mornings. You can get a 90-minute guided tour every day (three on Sundays, two a day in winter) at a good price.

Copyright 2005 S Wander