British Museum (Part 3)

The British Museum also had some great displays on medieval Europe and the Bronze Age, but much of that was very difficult to photograph (behind glass), and I was getting very tired (as I mentioned, I was only there 2 hours, but really needed to get to bed after 12 hours at work).

There were, however, a few items that really caught my attention, because of their age, and uniqueness.  For instance, this gold cape, discovered in a stone-lined grave in north Wales in 1833, which has been dated to about 1900BC!

Gold Cape, 1900BC, North Wales

This was at a time when people did not live in permanent villages, or build cities or palaces.  The people moved with their livestock and their possessions through the country.  This cape was crafted from a single gold ingot, beaten into a very thin sheet and embossed.  The cape's owner must have been a very wealthy and important person.

This copper lion's head sculpture dates back to a temple from 2500BC in Mesopotamia.  It is amazing that they were creating things like this even back then.

Copper Lion's Head, 2500BC, Mesopotamia

I loved these three little sculptures, partly because they were really cute, but mostly because of the description provided by the museum...

Clay human figurines, 3300BC

"These figures are made of unfired clay.  Although very crude, two of them certainly represent males.  The third is either female or has lost a small piece of clay."  (Have a close look at the figures - hilarious).

Finally, these last two items are astonishing to me because they date from 7200BC!

Lime plaster statues, 7200BC

These extraordinary statues are the earliest large-scale representations of the human form.  Can you imagine that these were made more than 9200 years ago?

That wraps up my visit to the British Museum.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  There was so much to see, I wish I had more time.