The Seven Wonders of the United Kingdom

By Ferne Arfin, About.com Guide

The British Museum in London is the world's largest museum of human history, culture and art. Its treasures include Egyptian mummies, objects from the Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ur, an Easter Island statue given to the museum by Queen Victoria, objects from the Sutton Hoo burial and (at least for now) the Elgin Marbles that once graced the Parthenon in Greece.

For my money the best object of all at the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone - a decree of Ptolemy, one of the last pharaohs, carved in three languages on a polished black stone. The carving is in hieroglyphics, demotic Egyptian script and Greek. It was the Greek inscription that was used to unlock the mystery of the other writing, including the hieroglyphics, and, therefore just about everything now known about ancient Egypt. A wonder indeed!

Find a hotel near the British Museum

Previous

• Introduction
• Windsor Castle - The World's Biggest House
• Stonehenge
• Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site - A Sophisticated Stone Age Community
• The Seven Sisters
• York Minster - It's Official, One of the Seven Wonders by Visitors' Vote
• The British Museum
• The Giant's Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Next