Page 58 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

56  ENGLAND ’ S SOUTH C O AST REGION B Y REGION

u British Museum

The oldest national public museum in the world,
the British Museum was established in 1753 to . Egyptian Mummies
house the collections of the physician Sir Hans Animals such as this cat
Sloane (1660–1753). Sloane’s collection has been (30 BC) were preserved
augmented with gifts and purchases from all over alongside humans by 92
the ancient Egyptians.
the world, and the museum now contains objects 93
spanning thousands of years. The main part of Upper floors
the building (1823–50) was designed by architect 94
Robert Smirke, but the archi tectural highlight
is the magnificent, modern, glass-roofed Great
Court, designed by Foster and Partners. 90

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Turquoise Pectoral from Aztec Mexico 59
Snakes were sacred to the Aztecs and this 73
double-headed serpent (c.1400–1521) was
probably worn during religious ceremonies. 72
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Montague 33 27
Place entrance
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. Parthenon Sculptures
These reliefs from the Parthenon in Athens 35
were brought to London by Lord Elgin around 30
1802 and are housed in a special gallery.

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Gallery Guide 20
The Greek and Roman collection, and the Middle Eastern 19 22 4
collection are found on all three levels of the museum, 8
predominantly on the west side. The African collection is 78 77
located on the lower floor, while Asian exhibits are found on 17
the ground and upper floors on the north side of the museum. 7
The Americas collection is located in the northeast corner 18 16 10
of the ground floor. Egyptian artifacts are found in the large 15 6
gallery to the west of the Great Court and on the first floor.
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Key to Floorplan
Asian collection Middle Eastern collection
Enlightenment European collection
Coins and medals Temporary exhibitions
Ground floor
Greek and Roman collection Non-exhibition space
Egyptian collection Africa, Oceania and the Americas
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p174 and pp184–5

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