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 Front Entrance to the British Museum, Great Russell St Bloomsbury, Co. Greater London
Established in 1753 by Sir Hans Sloane, the collection was substantially added to during Britain’s expansionism of the 18th and 19th centuries with explorers and archaeologists bringing back substantial antiquities from ancient worlds, lost worlds and new worlds.
 The Great Court, British Museum
The range and importance of the collection is unparelled in the world and makes for fascinating viewing. The British Museum houses artefacts from ancient civilisations from all over the world, such as China, Asia, India, the Americas, the Pacific and Africa. It also includes collections from North European cultures dating from pre-historic to medieval times. But the collection is most renowned for its artefacts from the ancient civilisations of Rome, Greece, Assyria, Egypt, from the cradle of western civilisation itself.
This Museum’s collection includes the controversial Elgin Marbles, the stone friezes and figurines that donned the ancient Parthenon of Greece, an impressive collection of Egyptian sarcophagi including that of Cleopatra and a colossal statue of Rameses II. The collection also includes towering Assyrian gateways, figures of winged bulls and lions, and a collection of Stone Buddhas and Jade artefacts from ancient Chinese dynasties.
The old Library in the Great Court also has a prominent position in history with many famous patrons that include Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde and Ghandi.
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