A must-visit for the London Olympics: The British Museum, a treasure trove of ancient civilization relics

Text by MOOK Travel Life Network / Li Xinyi | Compiled & Reported Source / MOOK Editorial Department

With Taiwan’s representative set to carry the Olympic torch in the UK on June 23, the Olympic fervor is heating up. The British Museum (British Museum) is a museum that no visitor to London should miss, and you can also glimpse the grand achievements of the British Empire during the colonial era through its rich and precious collections. It is the world's first national museum open to the public, established in 1753 and officially opened in 1759, six years later. Its collections include relics from major ancient civilizations, especially early arts and cultures from West Asia and the ancient Mediterranean, with various valuable collections and fascinating displays that are among the best in Britain.

The initial collections of the British Museum were owned by Sir Hans Sloane, which were later purchased by the British Parliament through a lottery. Over the years, private collections were acquired, along with donations from various sources, as well as archaeological discoveries by organizations both within and outside the UK, contributing to the museum’s current scale.

Currently, the British Museum has over 100 galleries, divided into sections such as Egypt, West Asia, Greece and Rome, Japan, the Orient, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Era. A visit requires at least three hours, and the rich content could actually take two full days to explore. If time is limited, you must not miss the galleries dedicated to ancient West Asia, ancient Egypt, and ancient Greece.

The Ancient Near East Gallery

Upon entering the Ancient Near East gallery, the most eye-catching exhibits are two massive creatures resembling humans and bulls—these are the lamassu, guardian statues at the entrances of Assyrian palaces. The culture of West Asia spans the entire Mesopotamian (Tigris-Euphrates River) region from 4000 BCE to 331 BCE, encompassing the rise and fall of various city-states and empires, along with their unique cultures. The influences and connections between them are evident, and a wide array of cultural treasures are displayed in 18 galleries from the basement to the upper floors of this section.

One distinctive feature of the Ancient Near East gallery compared to others is that many of its precious artifacts were obtained through archaeological excavations organized or participated in by the British Museum itself. For example, the excavations led by Henry Layard in the mid-19th century focused on the ancient Assyrian capitals of Nimrud and Nineveh. Numerous exquisite reliefs and statues were unearthed from palace ruins, particularly the relief galleries of Assyrian palaces, which depict themes of war, hunting, and banquets and are remarkably well-preserved at the British Museum.

The Egypt Gallery

Compared to West Asian art, the fundamental difference in concept lies in the fact that West Asians expressed worldly pleasures, as can be seen from their lavishly decorated palaces; whereas Egyptians were deeply concerned with the afterlife and burial, believing that human life and the universe are eternal, and that as long as the body remains intact, the soul can return and the deceased can be resurrected after some years.

The Egyptians’ emphasis on body preservation, tomb construction, and decoration gave rise to various artworks such as pyramids, tomb murals, portrait sculptures, and decorated mummy coffins. These works expressed the Egyptians’ complex beliefs about death using different materials and techniques. Ancient Egypt worshipped deities such as the sun god and the water god, and believed that the pharaoh was the incarnation of the gods, enjoying divine privileges in both life and death. It is not hard to imagine, then, that most of the large stone statues displayed in the British Museum are of successive pharaohs. Among the most eye-catching is the colossal red granite bust of Amenophis III.

The Greek World Gallery

The ancient Greek world covered vast territories across the eastern Mediterranean. The Greek World gallery at the British Museum features artifacts from the Aegean Civilization period, Classical Greece, and the Hellenistic period following Alexander the Great. Among the most famous are historical architectural wonders such as the Parthenon and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and served as the main temple of ancient Athens.