Return To The British Museum

Actually, we've returned several times. It's free and open and four blocks away. There's no rush. On this particular day we returned briefly to the Roman/British section, then did the clocks and automatons, then money and coins, then some classical glass and ceramics. After a few hours, we're exhausted and head back to the flat to rest, read, blog, and plan the next day's visits. But we'll be back to the British Museum again. And again.

Remnants of letters home from a Roman army outpost

Passing through a favorite room; carved back sides of Lewis chess
pieces

Another day, another hoard, but this is a special one: just the
jewelry pieces from the Fishpool hoard (more than 1200 coins),
buried after the Battle of Hexham, 1464; things were not going
well for the Lancastrians; largest of Medieval hoards so far 
found in Britain; note particularly the lock and key piece on 
the left, a 15th century "key to my heart" piece Vicki liked

Innards of a late Medieval church clock

Of great interest to us were the automatons: devices that perform
a variety of chores as they keep time: the farmer indicates the time
with his staff, the cow's eyes roll, and at a pre-arranged time, the
milkmaid milks the cow; Polish/German, 1600

Galleon that plays organ music within to
announce the beginning of the banquet,
then sails across the table and fires its guns;
Hans Schlottheim, 1585

Gotta get me one of these

Of course we also learned how pendulums work,
etc.

Next was the room on the history of coins, money, filthy lucre

Ending with contactless payment, as all the Museum's cafes

and shops now require

Among my museum obsessions is to find 
a contemporary depiction, like this, of the Oracle
of Delphi seated on her tripod, hallucinating;
here, however, Heracles is stealing the tripod from
her; Athens, 5th BCE; it's complicated; must keep
looking...

Commerce containers of the classical world

Guide to shapes and uses

News to me of the day: an epinetron, a device that a woman would
place on her leg to protect it while roving wool; Athens, 5th BCE;
I still have to figure out what roving is...

Chaturzange and Thil hoards; Roman, south of France; no end
of hoards

Classical glass, always of interest

Portland Vase, Roman, 15 BCE-30 CE

Case after case of such stuff

Also new: sardonyx, two-tone cameos...early
Roman empire