Every time I go to the British Museum, I always pass by the stone. It captures the imagination, even if you know that it's just a "propaganda piece".
Also, The British Museum is one of the greatest places on earth.
Also, The British Museum is one of the greatest places on earth.
I second that opinion, but suggest that the museum's deserved popularity - especially with tourists - can often limit enjoyment of the environment, mostly because of queues and crowds.
For those who truly enjoy the BM, as a living, evolving resource and venue to be visited regularly, I'd suggest considering membership. It's £69 a year, and grants free access to otherwise paid exhibitions/events. It also grants attendance to members-only events outside usual museum hours. There's something really special about wandering the galleries during advent, with no crowds, and listening to live music (quartets, groups of singers etc) while drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies. Attending lectures, too, in which archaelologists and others discuss their digs and finds, is tremendously engaging. There's also a members' room in which to rest up.
For those with children, Young Friends membership for eight- to 15-year-olds is worth considering; I've paid for quite a few kids, and renewed year after year because they got so much out of the activities/experiences. The museum hosts Young Friends sleep-overs - some in the Egyptian section with the mummies.
Membership info: https://www.britishmuseum.org/membership
Young Friends: https://www.britishmuseum.org/membership/young-friends
I'm always on vacation when in London so I try to go early morning on a weekday.
> I'd suggest considering membership. It's £69 a year, and grants free access to otherwise paid exhibitions/events.
I get the membership every time, even though I only go every couple of years. Sometimes it gets me into something but it's good to support the place.
British people's taxes support the place. Giving them extra money is a bit like throwing some extra cash to help support the police whenever they stop you...
The sheriff dept I donate to gets about 30% of the county budget.
The city police get just over 10% of the city budget.
My business actually started the shop-with-a-sheriff in this county, although the new sheriff took it over after a couple of years.
I waste plenty of money, but I don't particularly feel like I'm wasting it here. You should meet the kids, and the deputies.
European colonialism was just an example of a practice that dates back to prehistory, and can even be seen in the behavior of our chimpanzee cousins - 'raiding' is the word for it.
Who has claim? The Greeks? It was ruled by a Greek at the time. The Romans who ruled later? The French? The British? The pre-revolution Egyptians? The post coup Egyptians?
Everyone involved is long dead. It's not like WWII looting where the grand child of the former owner wants their property back.
At some point this is all the ancient history of us all.
Where treasures looted from other cultures are displayed ?
Typical.
Another thing worth pointing out, the British Museum was founded with the objective of proving events written in the bible were based on historical events. Let's air all this dirty laundry while we are at it.
Maybe some day the Creation Museum in Kentucky (link omitted) will have the same longevity and benefits of colonial resource extraction.
You set out to prove the Earth was made in 6 days a few thousand years ago, you're... likely not gonna be coming up with much that's connected to reality, even by accident.
Though it is funny to imagine.
The summer palace WAS a place to see those stolen things already.