The British Museum
London · United Kingdom · Founded 1753
Dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Bloomsbury area of London.
5.8 million
Annual Visitors
8 million objects; c. 80,000 on display
Collection
2–4 hours
Recommended Visit
Sir Robert Smirke (1823–1852) · Great Court by Foster + Partners (2000)
Architect
About The British Museum
The British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury area of London, United Kingdom, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection of some eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence.
It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. The British Museum was the first public national museum in the world.
The museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the Irish physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. It first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building.
Its expansion over the following 250 years was largely a result of expanding British colonisation and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions.
Masterworks & Must-See Highlights
The works that define The British Museum — and why they matter.
Rosetta Stone
Ancient Egyptian · 196 BCE
Room 4, Egyptian Sculpture Gallery
A granodiorite stele inscribed with a priestly decree in three scripts: hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek. Discovered in 1799 during Napoleon's campaign, it was the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Parthenon Sculptures (Elgin Marbles)
Pheidias and workshop · c. 447–432 BCE
Room 18, Duveen Gallery
Marble sculptures from the Parthenon on Athens' Acropolis — including the frieze, metopes, and pedimental figures. Their removal from Greece (1801–12) by Lord Elgin remains one of the great repatriation debates in museum history.
Sutton Hoo Helmet
Anglo-Saxon craftsman · Early 7th century CE
Room 41, Medieval Europe
An iconic iron helmet found in an Anglo-Saxon royal burial mound in Suffolk in 1939. Its haunting face-mask has become one of the most powerful images of early medieval Britain.
Hoa Hakananai'a
Rapanui people · c. 1000–1200 CE
Room 24
A volcanic basalt moai (ancestor figure) from Easter Island. The name translates as "hidden or stolen friend." It is considered one of the finest examples of Rapanui carving and one of the museum's most contested objects.
Lewis Chessmen
Norse craftspeople · c. 1150–1200 CE
Room 40, Europe Gallery
93 medieval chess pieces carved from walrus ivory and whale teeth, discovered on the Isle of Lewis in 1831. Their expressive faces — including a bishop biting his shield — have made them among the most beloved objects in the museum.
Collections & Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
A small ask before you go
You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.
Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.