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@britishmuseum

5 years

We’re excited to announce our next major show, opening in 2019! #MangaExhibition will explore the phenomenon of manga, and will be the largest exhibition of the art form ever to take place outside of Japan.

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6 years

In 2005, #Banksy installed this ‘cave painting’ in one of our galleries without permission, and without anyone noticing. He gave it a fake ID number and label, and it remained on the wall for 3 days before the Museum was alerted to the prank via Banksy’s website!🤦‍♀️ #IObject

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4 months

Wishing you the very merriest of Christmases! ❤ Lots of love, The British Museum ⛄ 🎅 🎄

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5 years

🐰🐇 Beatrix Potter was born #onthisday in 1866. She made these charming illustrations for her 1909 book ‘The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies’. Who’s your favourite Beatrix Potter character?

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6 years

We’ve made an exciting new acquisition! To celebrate Egyptian footballing star @MoSalah being top scorer in the Premier League this season, we’ll be displaying his boots alongside objects from ancient Egypt in the run up to the Champions League final ⚽️🏆

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11 months

#DidYouKnow that the ancient Egyptian word for cat was ‘mioew’? 🐈 This upright cat statue sits in typical Egyptian fashion, and was probably intended as a dedication to the cat-goddess Bastet 🐱

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5 years

Everyone’s talking about the #Superbowl today, so here’s a superb owl from the collection! 🦉🏈 This sleepy owl was made in the 19th century by Utagawa Hiroshige. The inscription is a haiku, which roughly translates as: ‘The old maple looks rosy and refreshed from end to end’

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5 years

🐧 ‘One can’t be angry when one looks at a Penguin’ In 1860, English art critic John Ruskin wrote a letter saying he often visited the Museum to look at penguins to cure his states ‘of disgust and fury’ #WorldPenguinDay

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5 years

@TheMERL Hey @TheMerl , here's a quacking duck that's got to be at the top of the bill✨ It's a cosmetics container made around 1300 BC in ancient Egypt🦆

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6 years

Here are some #Easter bunnies drawn by Beatrix Potter! 🐰💐☀️ After feasting in Mr McGregor’s lettuce patch, the Flopsy Bunnies have fallen asleep in this illustration from 1909

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11 months

Can you bee-lieve this brilliant bug is over 3500 years old? 🐝✨ It was made by the Minoans, who inhabited the island of Crete from around 3000 BC. They used the bee to symbolise power and prosperity, making it a frequent motif in their art and jewellery Happy #WorldBeeDay ! 🐝

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4 years

We’ve rounded up 11 ways you can explore the Museum from home in this blog: #MuseumFromHome

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6 years

These two statues of women are both over 4,000 years old and represent citizens from two of the world’s oldest cities – Mohenjodaro in modern-day Pakistan, and Ur in Iraq.

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6 years

🎲Gaming dice haven’t changed much since ancient times – these examples span 1,600 years and date back to around the 6th century BC! Can you guess which is the oldest?

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6 years

This amazingly detailed sandstone sculpture was carved around 1,000 years ago in India. Sculptural pieces like this once decorated the outside of temples. Here the gods Vishnu (‘Hari’) and Shiva (‘Hara’) are combined in the deity Harihara who is depicted in the centre

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3 years

J R R Tolkien was born #OnThisDay in 1892. Tolkien drew inspiration from Anglo-Saxon England – like the runic inscription on this mysterious ring made between the 8th and 10th centuries. 🔎🔗

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6 years

The Rosetta Stone was discovered #onthisday in 1799. It’s regarded as one of the most important ancient Egyptian objects ever found, and was the key to deciphering hieroglyphs.

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6 years

Beatrix Potter was born #onthisday in 1866. She made these illustrations for her 1909 book ‘The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies’ 🐰🐇 Who’s your favourite Beatrix Potter character?

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1 year

Today is our 264th birthday! 🏛🎉 🎈 The Museum first opened to ‘all studious and curious persons’ on 15 January 1759, and we’ve welcomed over 356 million visitors since – are you one of them?

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8 years

@danisnotonfire Thanks for stopping by, Dan - we think you look very cultured! Hope you had a great visit 🏛😊

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5 years

It’s our 260th birthday! 🎂🎉 🏛️ The Museum first opened its doors #onthisday in 1759, free to all ‘curious and studious persons’. We’ve welcomed 350,404,179 visitors over the last two and a half centuries – that’s more than the population of the USA!

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7 years

Athens was named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Her symbol was an owl and was used on coins for over 300 years!

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6 years

Here’s our (Japanese!) tribute to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – the Italian composer was born #onthisday in 1678.

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5 years

Today is the #WinterSolstice – the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. This afternoon at Stonehenge the sun will set between the tallest two ‘trilithons’ (two upright stones capped by a horizontal stone)

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6 years

Here’s a beautiful snowy scene by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui. What’s the weather like where you are?

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3 years

❄ These charming snowy scenes were made by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige in the mid 1800s, beautifully illustrating the winter countryside ❄ What’s the weather like where you are? 🌨

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4 years

Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai died #onthisday in 1849. He lived into his 90th year, and believed that the older he got the greater his art would become. These scenes are from his famous series ‘Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji’

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5 years

J R R Tolkien was born #onthisday in 1892. His books took inspiration from the Anglo-Saxons, like the inscription on this mysterious gold ring

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5 years

The Lycurgus Cup is the only complete example of colour-changing dichroic glass from ancient Rome. The glass contains nanoparticles of gold and silver – this makes it turn from opaque green to translucent red when light is shone through it

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6 years

Today is the #WinterSolstice – the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere! Here's #Stonehenge by John Constable

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7 years

Author Beatrix Potter was born #onthisday in 1866. These are her original illustrations to the 1909 book ‘The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies’ 🐰

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4 years

🐧 In 1860, English art critic John Ruskin wrote ‘One can’t be angry when one looks at a Penguin’. #WorldPenguinDay

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6 years

Everyone’s talking about the #Superbowl today – and we’re fans of this superb owl from ancient Greece! 🦉🏈

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4 years

While we’re stuck inside, we’ve been exploring the natural world through the collection and look what we spotted 🦆🦜🦉🐤 These woodblock prints were all made by world-renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai in the 1830s.

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6 years

Artist Mary Delany was born #onthisday in 1700. She created thousands of these beautifully detailed flowers from tiny pieces of paper, and only started when she was 72! 🌺🌻🌹🌸🌼

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5 years

🎉 #HappyNewYear2019 ! January is named after the Roman god Janus – he had two faces so he could see the future and the past

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6 years

Hokusai died #onthisday in 1849. His masterpiece ‘Under the Wave off Kanagawa’ from 1831 is better known as ‘The Great Wave’ 🌊

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6 years

J R R Tolkien was born #onthisday in 1892. His books took inspiration from the Anglo-Saxons, like the runic inscription on this mysterious ring

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6 years

This ancient Egyptian mathematical papyrus is 3,500 years old and shows an approximation of π! #PiDay #BSW18

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4 years

How would you illustrate your favourite song? 🎼🖌 This beautiful stave featuring birds and flowers was drawn by British artist Edward Burne-Jones in the 1880s 🕊🌷

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3 years

It's #NationalCakeDay ! 🍰 The Romans also loved to eat and make cakes – this baking-pan for cakes or bread rolls was made in the first century AD:

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4 years

It’s #InternationalCatDay so we’re sharing one of the most famous felines in the collection – the Gayer-Anderson Cat. In ancient Egypt cats were highly valued as pets, but also acquired religious significance – read more here: 🐱

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11 months

The Epic of Gilgamesh was composed nearly 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. The poem recounts the exploits of King Gilgamesh and the Wildman Enkidu. Together they embark on many journeys, including slaying the demon Humbaba, depicted on this mask

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7 years

‘Until the age of 70, nothing I drew was worthy of notice’ – #Hokusai died #onthisday in 1849 aged 90

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7 years

Magna Carta was agreed to by King John #onthisday in 1215. This copy of the ‘Great Charter’ was made in the 18th century

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6 years

🏛️🎉 The British Museum first opened to ‘all studious and curious persons’ #onthisday in 1759 – the first national, public museum in the world.

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4 years

🏞🌳🍂 Immerse yourself in this Chinese painted scroll – ‘Reading in the Autumn Mountains’, made in 1623 by artist Xiang Shengmo

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5 years

❄️✨What’s the weather like where you are? This wonderful winter print was made by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui in 1922. It shows snow falling at Kinkakuji near Kyoto in Japan.

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6 years

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that if a cat died a natural death in an ancient Egyptian household, all the inhabitants would shave their eyebrows! 🐱 #NationalCatDay

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4 years

This 3,000-year-old ancient Egyptian papyrus contains a carefully arranged list of dreams and their interpretations, including which dreams were good or bad omens 💭💤 #DreamsMW

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2 years

🏛✨ Today is our 263rd birthday! 🎈 The Museum first opened to ‘all studious and curious persons’ #OnThisDay in 1759, and we’ve welcomed over 356 million visitors since – are you one of them?

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6 years

Leonardo da Vinci was born #onthisday in 1452. This exceptionally detailed drawing uses a technique called silverpoint, where a fine metal stylus was used to render the image. Mistakes were impossible to correct!

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4 years

🌷 ‘I have invented a new way of imitating flowers’ 🌷 These exquisite floral works were made by trailblazing English artist Mary Delany in the 18th century – often mistaken for watercolours, they are actually collages crafted from tiny pieces of paper:

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11 months

📜 Magna Carta was signed #OnThisDay in 1215. 👑 King John approved the Magna Carta during a political crisis. The document prevented him from exploiting his power, establishing that everybody – even the monarch – was subject to equality under the law

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1 year

J R R Tolkien was born #OnThisDay in 1892. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ author drew inspiration from Anglo-Saxon England. This mysterious gold ring was made between the 8th and the 10th centuries, and was found in Cumbria in the north of England ✨

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3 years

#TheDig is now available on @NetflixFilm ! Based on the true story of the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, the film reimagines the 1939 excavations with a star-studded cast. Our curator’s blog compares the film with reality:

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4 years

🐰🐇 Beatrix Potter was born #onthisday in 1866. She made these lovely illustrations for her 1909 book ‘The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies’. Who’s your favourite Beatrix Potter character?

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6 years

Happy New Year! January is named after the Roman god Janus. He had two faces so he could see the future and the past #HappyNewYear #2018

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3 years

🎂🎉Today is our 262nd birthday! 🎉🎂 🏛 The Museum first opened to ‘all studious and curious persons’ #OnThisDay in 1759. Since then we have welcomed over 356 million visitors – are you one of them?

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3 years

💐 Happy #Easter ! These fluffy bunnies were drawn by author and illustrator Beatrix Potter for her 1909 book ‘The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies’ 🐰 Who’s your favourite Beatrix Potter character? Read more about Potter’s life, work and legacy here:

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5 years

Have you ever seen a hippo brewing beer? 🍻 In these 3,000-year-old fragments of Egyptian papyrus, the world is turned upside down as animals take on human roles. There’s a cat waiting on a mouse, a hippo making beer, and a board game between a lion and a gazelle 🦁 🍺 ♟

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3 years

This Assyrian tablet records the #SpringEquinox over 2,600 years ago – it says: ‘On the 6th day of Nisan the day and night were of equal length’ ☀🌑 🔎🔗

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6 years

Hypnos was the ancient Greek god of sleep. His wings allowed him to move over land and sea, and to fan the foreheads of the weary 😴 #WorldSleepDay

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4 years

The Royal Game of Ur is the oldest playable board game in the world, and dates to around 2500 BC ♟🎲 Discover how to play this game of speed and strategy with @tomscott and curator Irving Finkel, who deciphered the rules of the game, in this video:

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5 years

This relief is known as ‘The Queen of the Night’. Made in Babylonia between 1792–1750 BC, it may depict Ishtar, goddess of sexual love and war. There are still traces of paint on the sculpture – this reconstruction shows what it may have originally looked like.

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7 years

The Rosetta Stone was discovered #onthisday in 1799. It was the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs

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4 years

Author J R R Tolkien was born #onthisday in 1892. Tolkien drew inspiration from Anglo-Saxon England, like this mysterious 1,000-year-old ring found in Cumbria

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5 years

Our #Ashurbanipal exhibition is now open! Unrivalled warrior, fearless lion hunter and master scholar, King Ashurbanipal was once the most powerful person on earth. Come face to face with history’s greatest forgotten ruler in our new show:

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1 year

Happy #NewYear ! 兔年快乐，万事如意 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit 🐰 People born in the Year of the Rabbit are said to be gentle, modest and kind. This Qing-era portrait shows a Chinese beauty gently holding a rabbit 🐇 #ChineseNewYear

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4 years

🏛 Happy #InternationalMuseumDay ! Today we’re going on a virtual visit to three galleries. The Egyptian Sculpture Gallery contains highlights including the Rosetta Stone and colossal sculpture, displaying 3,000 years of history. Read more:

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6 years

Czech artist Alphonse Mucha was born #onthisday in 1860. Here are two of his colourful Art Nouveau prints made in the late 19th century

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6 years

This intricate piece of jewellery is a diadem, made between 250 and 200 BC in Italy. In the centre is a figure of Eros, the ancient Greek god of love and attraction.

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7 years

These 2,800-year-old reliefs were made for King Ashurnasirpal II’s North-West Palace in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, modern-day Iraq

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5 years

This letter is one of the earliest known examples of writing in Latin by a woman. Written by Claudia Severa in the north of Roman Britain between 97–103 AD, the letter invites Sulpicia Lepidina to a birthday party 🎈🎁 #WomenInCulture #MuseumWeek

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5 years

On #RemembranceDay2018 , here is a red poppy made by Mary Delany in 1776. The Museum will observe the two-minute silence at 11.00

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7 years

Here are some #Hokusai blues that will brighten up #BlueMonday ! He famously used Prussian blue to great effect

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6 years

#August is named after the Roman emperor Augustus. It was previously known as Sextilis, meaning sixth month. This finely detailed cameo of the emperor was made in the first century AD

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2 years

✨ #HappyNewYear ! ✨ #January is named after the Roman god Janus, who had two faces so he could see the future and the past at the same time. Janus was the god of beginnings and guardian of doorways and gateways 🔎🔗

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4 years

The Rosetta Stone – the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs – was discovered #onthisday in 1799. Find out more about the discovery of the stone, how it came to the Museum and why it’s so important in this blog post:

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7 years

Today is the #SummerSolstice – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Here’s the sun rising behind Stonehenge ☀️

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5 years

Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered #onthisday in 1922 – a major breakthrough in Egyptology as the amazing royal burial was largely undisturbed

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5 years

The Rosetta Stone was discovered #onthisday in 1799. It’s regarded as one of the most important ancient Egyptian objects ever found, and was the key to deciphering hieroglyphs

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7 years

Happy New Year! #January is named after the Roman god Janus. He had two faces so he could see the future and the past!

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5 years

Today marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death. The artist made a number of sketches depicting the infant Christ playing with a reluctant-looking cat – these drawings were done on opposite sides of the same piece of paper 🐱🐾 #Leonardo500

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6 years

The #SpringEquinox is mentioned in this 3,000-year-old cuneiform tablet from ancient Mesopotamia – ‘On the 6th day of Nisan the day and night were of equal length’

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3 years

🐧 ‘One can’t be angry when one looks at a Penguin’ 🐧 In 1860, English art critic John Ruskin wrote a letter saying he often visited the Museum to look at penguins to cure his states ‘of disgust and fury’ 🔎🔗 #WorldPenguinDay

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7 years

This ancient Egyptian mathematical papyrus is 3,500 years old and shows an approximation of π! #PiDay #BSW17

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6 years

15,000 tiny turquoise tiles decorate this Aztec serpent, made around 500 years ago in Mexico. Double-headed serpents (known as maquizcoatl) were the bearers of bad omens

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6 years

Renaissance master Michelangelo was born #onthisday in 1475. This sophisticated chalk drawing may have been a gift for one of his close friends

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6 years

This 2,300-year-old #MysteryObject has a modern equivalent – what do you think it might have been used for? 🤔

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4 years

🏛📲 Don’t forget there are loads of ways you can access the Museum from home – we’ve compiled 11 of the best here, so you can get your culture fix whenever you fancy: #MuseumFromHome

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3 years

The Rosetta Stone – the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs – was discovered #OnThisDay in 1799. Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Rosetta Stone on our website:

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5 years

🐱 Did you know a group of cats used to live at the Museum? From the 1970s to the 1990s, between 4 and 7 cats were kept to deter mice and rats – here you can see Pippin, Maisie and Poppet! Read the full story of the Museum cats: #InternationalCatDay

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3 years

✨ Happy New Year ✨ January is named after the Roman god Janus, who had two faces so he could see the future and the past at the same time. 🔎🔗

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We’re 264 years old! The British Museum Act was given royal assent #onthisday in 1753, creating the world’s first national public museum 👑📜🎉

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5 years

Japanese artist Hokusai died #onthisday in 1849. His 1831 masterpiece ‘The Great Wave’ is now one of the most famous artworks in the world, but back then you could buy a print of it for the price of two helpings of noodles! 🍜🍜🌊

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4 years

Today we’re excited to launch a major revamp of our Collection online! 🏛📲 We’ve been working extra hard to bring you this update early so you can #MuseumFromHome even better than before. Access the collection digitally wherever you are:

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5 years

4,000 years ago, a dog left its pawprints in this Mesopotamian brick 🐾 It’s also stamped with cuneiform text that includes the name of Ur-Nammu, ruler of Ur (in the south of modern-day Iraq) between about 2112–2095 BC

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5 years

Happy #ChineseNewYear ! 新年大吉 2019 is the Year of the Pig 🐷 This plump pig was made in Cyprus nearly 2,000 years ago – it’s a terracotta rattle that might have been used as a child’s toy.

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