Timeline & Treasures of the British museum
© Lucy Charlotte Acland Johnson
PREDYNASTIC PERIOD 5500-3100 BC
EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD 3100-2686 BC
OLD KINGDOM 2686-2181 BC
1ST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD 2181-2055 BC
MIDDLE KINGDOM 2055-1650 BC
2ND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD 1650-1550 BC
NEW KINGDOM 1550-1069 BC
3RD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD 1069-747 BC
LATE PERIOD 747-332 BC
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD 332-30 BC
ROMAN PERIOD 30 BC-AD 395
As you can see from the above, the civilisation lasted for a very long time, before finally becoming part of the Roman Empire.
I have included in the descriptions below the dates in which we believe the objects were made...can you tell which period they were made in?
STATUE OF RAMSES THE 2ND-around 1270BC One of the greatest Egyptian treasures owned by the British Museum is the top half of a huge statue of Ramses the Great. It was this statue which inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley to write this poem, which is one of my favourites:
" I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast an trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert...Near them, on the sand, Half sunken, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its scutlptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of Kings: Look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." (If you would like to share your thoughts on that poem please join the discussion "refletions on Ozymandias".
THE HUNTERS PALETTE-around 3100BC
This is a a highly decorated palette, based on the king that Egyptians woud have used to mix up their black eye make up, known as Kohl. It was made to be decorative, however, and would not really have been used.
THE PITT-RIVERS KNIFE-around 3600 BC
This knife has a blade made of flint, which is beautifully decorated, and and ivory handle with animals carved on it. Nowadays, ivory may not be used much, as sadly there are not many elephants and rhinos left.
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