British Museum

We went to the British museum the other day. This is quite an engaging museum with many different sections, we were only really able to see two the day we went but found them to be very interesting.

Egyptian history is always so impressive as it always seems so far and so mysterious. They had built such large and impressive monuments so long ago (up to 2750BC) that were built to last forever and still it seems there is no real explanation as to how everything was built or even moved around.

Nearly 3000 years old, the Rosetta stone is the remaining part of a larger manuscript. It was written in hieroglyphs and translated in to Greek and Demotic.

The Black Schist sarcophagus of Ankhesneferibre (530 BC)

Was used for Ankhesneferibre, Amuns wife, before the Persian conquest of 525 BC. The sarcophagus was later reused by a roman priest who added his own inscriptions on the sides and changed the pronouns in the texts.

Many of the statues made by the Egyptians were created to ensure their survival in the afterlife. Some of these were colossal!

This is one of a pair of human headed lions, they stood at the doorway and offered mystical protection.

 The Royal Lion Hunt

In 645 BC Lion hunting was the sport of kings.

Lions would be placed in cages

The lions would then be shot at

And the king, in all his bravery would stand face to face with the Lion and defeat him by thrusting his blade through his heart!

At this time, lions were running rampant and the Lion hunt was thought to show that the king was taking care of his people.

As usual with different and especially ancient cultures, the Egyptians had some very interesting beliefs. It is always fascinating to go back and have a look at the ways people lived and what made them do the things they did.

Forks of the Credit

Belfountain