Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Backatthewingedlions,explorethedark,violent,andmysterious
Assyrian
rooms.The
Nimrud Gallery is lined with royal propaganda reliefs and wounded lions (from the ninth
century
B.C.
).
The most modern of the ancient art fills the
Greek
section. Find Room 11, behind the
winged lions, and start your walk through Greek art history with the simple and primitive
Cycladic fertility figures. Later, painted vases show a culture really into partying. The finale
is the Parthenon Sculptures (the so-called Elgin Marbles). The much-wrangled-over bits of
the Athenian Parthenon (from about 450
B.C.
) are even more impressive than they look. To
best appreciate these ancient carvings, take the audioguide tour (described earlier).
Be sure to venture upstairs to see artifacts from
Roman Britain
that surpass anything
you'll see at Hadrian's Wall or elsewhere in Britain. Nearby, the Dark Age Britain exhibits
offer a worthwhile peek at that bleak era; look for the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship artifacts from
a seventh-century royal burial on the east coast of England (Room 41). A rare Michelangelo
cartoon (preliminary sketch) is in Room 90.
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British Library
The British Empire built its greatest monuments out of paper; it's through literature that
England has made her lasting contribution to history and the arts. Here, in just two rooms,
are the literary treasures of Western civilization, from early Bibles, to the Magna Carta, to
Shakespeare's
Hamlet,
to Lewis Carroll's
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
.
You'll see the Lindisfarne Gospels transcribed on an illuminated manuscript, as well as
Beatles lyricsscrawledonthebackofagreetingcard.PagesfromLeonardodaVinci'snote-
book show his powerful curiosity, his genius for invention, and his famous backward and
inside-out handwriting, which makes sense only if you know Italian and have a mirror. A
Beowulf
manuscript from
A.D.
1000,
The Canterbury Tales,
and Shakespeare's First Folio
alsoresidehere.(IftheFirstFolioisnotout,thelibraryshouldhaveotherShakespeareitems
on display.)
Exhibits change often, and many ofthe museum'sold, fragile manuscripts need to “rest”
periodically in order to stay well-preserved. If your heart's set on seeing that one particular
rare Dickens book or letter penned by Gandhi, call ahead to make sure it's on display.
Cost and Hours:
Free, but £2 suggested donation, admission charged for some (op-
tional) temporary exhibits, Mon-Fri 9:30-18:00, Tue until 20:00, Sat 9:30-17:00, Sun
11:00-17:00, 96 Euston Road, Tube: King's Cross St. Pancras or Euston, tel. 019/3754-6060
Tours:
While the British Library doesn't offer an audioguide or guided tours, you can
