The British Museum, London

The British Museum is one of the biggest and most significant history and culture museums in the world. Located in London, England, it is also the oldest museum in the world. It was founded in 1753 as a universal museum, although today its collections primarily feature artefacts and art objects. The earliest collection included natural history specimens, manuscripts, books, artefacts from Egypt, Rome, the Middle East, the Americas and Greece, and prints, all donated by scientist Hans Sloane. An act was passed in 1753, under which this collection came to include two more libraries - the Harleian and the Cottonian. These were united into the Royal Library in 1757. This library contained the single preserved copy of Beowulf, an epic poem in Old English written around 800 AD. It is housed in the British Library today.
The museum officially opened in 1759. Today it contains over seven million items from all over the world.

It received a collection of artefacts in1782. This was the first notable addition. These Roman and Greek objects date back to ancient times. The museum acquired the Rosetta Stone and some Egyptian sculptures in 1801. The Elgin Marbles became part of its collection in 1816. These marbles were carved from the Parthenon in Athens. Very soon problems arose due to lack of space, so a new building had to be constructed. In the meantime the personal library of George III, containing 19 000 maps, charts and pamphlets and 65 000 books, was also donated to the museum.
The new museum building was four times the size of the previous one. It was designed by Robert Smirke in the neoclassical style. The library was designed by Antonio Panizzi. He is sometimes referred to as the second founder of the museum.
The most successful exhibit in the history of Britain, entitled Treasures of Tutankhamun, was held in the British Museum in 1972. Around 1 700 000 people visited it. That year the book and manuscript collection was separated from the others. It was moved in 1997.
The museum has attracted criticism for housing foreign artefacts. Organizations have demanded that objects like the Benin Bronzes and the Elgin Marbles be returned to their countries of origin. The museum refused to return them with the claim that if everything from another country had to be returned, all museums would be empty.
At the center of the museum lies the Great Court of Elizabeth II. Opened in 2000, it is the vastest covered square on the continent. The roof is made of steel and glass, with around 1700 innovatively designed glass panes. The Reading Room, open to the public, is at the center of the square. This area was formerly filled by the library.
The Rosetta Stone is often considered the focal point of the museum's collection. This granite stone, greyish-pink in color, is inscribed with texts in Greek and Egyptian, written in Greek, Demotic Egyptian and hieroglyphs. This stone dates back to 196 BC, when Ptolemy V was the ruler of Egypt. His priests enacted a number of decrees, which they ordered to be inscribed on stones. The Rosetta stone depicts a decree issued in the ancient city of Memphis. It relates to some taxes that Ptolemy V repealed. At the time it was believed that hieroglyphs were the writing of the gods and Demotic Egyptian - of the people, as the name suggests (demos - people).
Another interesting artefact in the British Museum is the Central Asia collection of Marc Aurel Stein. This Jewish archaeologist made three successful expeditions to this part of the world. While there he came upon the oldest printed text in the world, the Diamond Sutra. It was discovered near Tun Huang at the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas along with 40 000 other manuscripts. The museum also houses the Clock Room, Egyptian mummies, Persian antiquities like the Cyrus Cylinder and the Mold cape, a gold ceremonial cape dating back to the Bronze Age.
A new and fascinating exhibit in the museum is Living and Dying, held in the Welcome Trust Gallery. It features a wide ethnographic collection, from ancient gold objects to modern paper arts, united by two common themes - life and death. Focus is placed on how different cultures perceive the meaning of life - whether it is to find personal well-being, to strive for the well-being of the community or the world, and what kind of life will help one feel satisfied when their time comes to depart it.