Презентация на тему по английскому языку на тему The British Museum

the world's largest and most important museums of human

history and culture. It has more than seven million objects from all continents. They illustrate and document the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. As with all other national museums and art galleries in Britain, the Museum charges no admission fee.

1828

opened in 1759. It was the first museum in

the world to be open to everyone. The museum gradually grew over the next two hundred years. It has nearly six million visitors a year and is the third most popular art museum in the world.

exhibits include the
Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles
Elgin

Marbles

that were taken from the Parthenon in Athens, is

one of the museum's most famous attractions. They are located in the purpose-built Parthenon Galleries.
The sculptures, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, were obtained by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and diplomat in Constantinopal in the Ottoman Empire, which at that time included Greece.

pieces of stone with old inscriptions or figures there

on", to prevent any more damage by the Turkish. Lord Elgin's collection was at first displayed at his own house, but in 1816 the House of Commons decided to purchase the collection and hand it over to the British Museum.

in 1874.

Museum.

History
The history of the British Museum began with the English physicist Hans Sloane, who died aged 93 in 1753. During his life, he had collected many important things from all around the world. When he died, he did not want his collection to be split up between his relatives. He sold his collection to the Parliament of King George II. The Parliament set up the British Museum to hold the collection. By the time he died, Sloane had collected over 80,000 objects from all over the world including Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Americas. The collection was mostly books and manuscripts. There were many important archaeological pieces included as well.

the British Museum is the extensive Egyptian collection. Besides

many sarcophagi and statues, including an enormous one of Pharaoh Ramesses II, the collection is home to the famous Rosetta stone, used by Jean-François Champollion to decipher the hieroglyphic writing. The text on the stone, created in 196 BC after the end of the Egyptian dynasties, is written in three different writings: Greek, hieroglyphic and demotic (a symplified form of hieroglyphic). The British Museum is also known for its very large and popular collection of Egyptian mummies and sarcophagi. You can even find animal mummies here.

Ramesses II

Assyrian collection
The Assyrian collection features relief carvings from

the palaces of the Assyrian kings at Nimrud, Khorsabad and Nineveh. The enormous winged bulls from the palace of Sargon II are especially impressive.

on display in Greek and Rome department of the

British Museum

collection include:
The Cyrus Cylinder, a cylindrical scroll from 539

BC. Written on it is the story of Cyrus, king of Babylon. He gave rights back to the people of Assyria after the previous king enslaved them and burned their temples.
Several ten feet tall statues of lions and bulls with human heads.
The fifteen foot high bronze gates of the fortress of Galawat.

of the British Museum. It is often seen as

the first written example of human rights from anywhere in the world

departments
The many other departments in the museum include Africa,

Oceania, and the Americas; Sudan; Asia; Coins and Medals; Conservation, Documentation and Science; Greek and Roman Antiquities; the Middle East; Portable Antiquities and Treasure; Prehistory and Europe; and Prints and Drawings.