First full day in London, and first class this morning!  Tomorrow night we see our first play, Hamlet.  After our orientation and class at Winston House (UNC’s base of operations in London, about twenty minutes' walk from my flat), I went out to lunch and then to the British Museum with friends.  None of them had been before, so I repeated a few rooms (no complaints there).

[caption id=“attachment_31” align=“alignnone” width=“300”]This brick wall, which was excavated in pieces, was originally in Nebuchadnezzar's throne room in Babylon. A brick wall, excavated in pieces, which originally graced King Nebuchadnezzar’s throne room in Babylon.[/caption]

 

[caption id=“attachment_32” align=“alignnone” width=“224”]Confession: I can't remember exactly when or where in Mesopotamia this lyre was made. This silver lyre was buried in the grimly named ‘Great Death Pit’ in the royal cemetery at Ur (modern Iraq).[/caption]

[caption id=“attachment_38” align=“alignnone” width=“300”]This winged bull is from the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon the Great. This winged bull is from the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon the Great.[/caption]

 

[caption id=“attachment_48” align=“alignnone” width=“224”]A small statue of Ramses, proving that the Ancient Egyptians were Tar Heels, too. A small statue of Ramses, proving that the Ancient Egyptians were Tar Heels, too.[/caption]

As our teacher (Professor Armitage) recommended this morning, we also explored the galleries dedicated to the Elgin marbles, taken from the Parthenon in the 19th century.  These rooms contained some of the actual friezes and statues, as well as plaster casts of some that Lord Elgin left in Athens.  Most of the friezes depict the mythical battle between the Lapiths and a herd of frenzied centaurs (ah, the classics).  The centaurs seemed to be winning.

[caption id=“attachment_40” align=“alignnone” width=“300”]A centaur (head broken off) menaces one of the human warriors while holding a panther skin over one arm--not really sure why. A centaur (head broken off) menaces one of the human warriors while holding a panther skin over one arm–not really sure why, but it’s cool.[/caption]

By this point, everyone in our group of five was footsore and mentally saturated. As we were searching for the exit, however, I spotted a familiar name: Palenque.  (It ought to be familiar, as I wrote an entire research paper about the characteristics of a particular Mayan glyph at that site.)  I had to leave the Mesoamerican rooms for another day…which gives me time to review everything I learned about Mayan writing.  I took just one picture to tide me over until I return.

[caption id=“attachment_36” align=“alignnone” width=“224”]Mayan glyphs and figures from a stone at Yaxchilan, another Mayan city. Mayan glyphs and figures from a stone at Yaxchilan, another Mayan city.[/caption]

[caption id=“attachment_34” align=“alignnone” width=“224”]Bonus picture: Apparently this crystal skull is a fake, probably made in the 19th century, but it still belongs in a museum... Bonus picture: The experts say this crystal skull is a fake, probably made in the 19th century, but it still belongs in a museum…[/caption]