The British Museum
London, England

[Tuesday - 05/11/99] Returning from Winchester in the early afternoon, we spent the afternoon at the British Museum. It's no secret that I consider this one place to be the single, greatest monument to human civilization. I don't say this solely because of its incredible contents, but also because of the museum's underlying philosophy. Here is a chronicle of human achievement gathered in one place for the edification of all people, free of charge. To say that it is my favorite museum in the world is an understatement.

Founded in 1753, it contains world-famous collections of antiquities from Egypt, Western Asia, Greece and Rome, as well as Prehistoric and Romano-British, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern and Oriental collections; Prints and Drawings; Coins, Medals and Banknotes. The Museum's collections number some six-and-a-half million objects ranging in size from shards of glass to colossal statues. These collections are maintained both for exhibition and as a research resource for some 30,000 inquiries from professional academics, school-children, and tourists each year.

The Museum site covers 5.4 hectares. The main building has six main levels and a number of mezzanines - there are 94 permanent and temporary exhibition galleries displaying Museum objects covering some 18,415 meters of display length. Needless to say, one afternoon is a drop in the bucket! Fortunately, I've perfected my "everything you simply must see" tour of the British Museum through a lifetime of visits. In just an hour, I made sure that everyone saw the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, the Portland Vase, the Sutton Hoo treasures, and everything in between! Sadly, for this visit, the entire library was being conserved in preparation for a new display making the Lindisfarne Gospels inaccessible. Next trip!