Londinium

This week, I had the pleasure of presenting a literature prize at the Free Word Centre, in Farringdon, London on behalf of my university. As the presentation took place in the early evening, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon in London. When I left Burscough at 9.30, it was raining steadily, but by the time I reached the capital at noon, it was 27 degrees and bright sunlight. A glorious day all round.

I love London and relished the chance to just explore the area, wandering the streets in the summer sun. As I came into Euston Station, the obvious port of call was the British Museum.

I love history and the BM held artefacts which I had seen many times in books, but to see them in the flesh, was delightful. In the refectory stood two enormous pacific northwest coast totem poles, staggeringly beautiful carvings. Rubbing shoulders with egyptian mummies and mesopotamian friezes was a rude slab of purple slate, notched with early celtic ogham script.

In the Early Europe area sat the Sutton Hoo treasure and various hoards of grave goods from mound burials, along with the preserved body of Lindow Man, a sacrificial victim garroted and thrown into a peat bog. Celtic warriors are often depicted wearing golden 'torcs' at the neck or wrist and a cabinet displayed a selection discovered in a regal burial, the largest weighing in at 2kg!

Besides ancient history, I love primitive art and in the Americas section sat some examples of Mayan and Aztec artwork, utterly amazing in its almost comic panel detail and style.

In a specially darkened cabinet, designed to protect the delicate gemstones and turquoise inlay, were three very special aztec artifacts, a double headed serpent, a skull and a special onyx knife used to open a victims chest and remove the sacrificial heart!

Visitors to the museum were as varied as the exhibits, with galleries covering almost every continent and devotees arriving from almost every culture. A busy venue, but certainly worth spending an afternoon there. Lots of shops selling excellent guide books and reference materials, but I had to feel a little dismayed by the commodification of ancient history, with Rosetta Stone rubbers and Book of the Dead jewellery. Still if it makes history and culture more accessible to young people (which it certainly seemed to be), it can't be a bad thing.