Crossroads: London: Photos

The Tube.

The Imperial War Museum.

This bus was converted into a troop transport vehicle during World War I. Afterwards, it served as a bus for several more years before being retired.

The "Tamzine" was the smallest boat used in the evacuation from Dunkirk. It was used to ferry men from shallow water out to the larger boats.

This is a shell from the largest gun ever built.

A German V-2 rocket.

Speaking of Dunkirk, this accordion has a neat story with it. One of the soldiers, Alexander King, was offered a chance to evacuate in one of the earliest boats. He refused, and stayed on the beach playing his accordion to keep up the spirits of the other soldiers until everyone else was evacuated. His exploits earned him the nickname "The Mad Hatter."

There was a whole exhibit dedicated to the merchant navy, which suffered higher casualty rates than the actual navy during the two World Wars. This display was about one particular ship that was sunk by a U-boat during World War 2. Most of the crew drowned, but 14 men escaped on a raft. Unfortunately, they had no way to steer it, so they were left drifting in the Atlantic waiting for rescue. 12 of the 14 men died before they were found, and the two survivors had been adrift for 50 days by the time a rescue team reached them. The scraps in the display are pieces of sailcloth that they used to keep a log on the raft.

The British Museum.

The Rosetta Stone.

And of course, me with the Rosetta Stone.

This is either the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus or a different mausoleum that was also in the museum. I don't remember which. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Speaking of ancient wonders, although it's not one of the seven...this is a section of the frieze from the south side of the Parthenon.

This is one of the metopes which was placed around the outside of the Parthenon. All of the metopes in the British museum are from the south side, and depict the mythical battle between the Lapiths and the centaurs. Most of the figures on the metopes are missing their heads - the heads that belong to these two are currently in Denmark, having been appropriated by a Danish naval officer for his own private collection several hundred years ago.

This is a computer-generated reconstruction of the same metope, based on laser scans of the heads and the metope and a couple of artistic sketches made when the metope was in better condition. There are indications that all of the metopes were painted, especially because they were high on the building and the additional contrast would have helped the viewer see more detail. However, the color scheme here is just a guess - we don't know what the actual colors were because the chemical traces aren't strong enough.

Another metope. This one used to have two figures on it, but the Lapith was carved in such high relief that it was broken off at some point. We do have an older sketch showing the Lapith still in place.

These fragments of statues used to stand on one of the two pediments - the triangular sections on the short ends of the Parthenon. This pediment showed the contest for Athens between Athena and Poseidon. Poseidon is second from the right, and Athena is third from the right. The figures on either side of them are probably Poseidon's wife Amphitrite (on the right) and Hermes (on the left).

Finally, a metope that still has the heads attached. Actually, this metope is astonishingly well-preserved, and the display didn't say why.

These are the statues from the other pediment, which showed the birth of Athena. Legend had it that she sprang fully clothed and armored from Zeus' head. Even though most of the statues are relatively complete, the two central figures of Zeus and Athena are missing.

Lord Elgin didn't take all of the Parthenon's carvings, but he made plaster casts of the ones he left behind. As it happens, this is fortunate for researchers today - these casts show the friezes in a much better condition than they are today.

It's strange, but I didn't enjoy seeing the Elgin Marbles as much as I thought I would. Maybe it has something to do with them being at eye level, or being so removed from their original surroundings - I don't know. I can't help but appreciate how much better-preserved they are than they would have been otherwise, but at the same time, they seem completely out of their element.

This is a vase in the Geometric style, which was characterized by highly intricate (you guessed it) geometric patterns. The picture doesn't capture a lot of the tiny, precise details which are visible in person.

These are Cycladic figurines. Most of them were found in graves, but because the civilizations of the Cycladic islands left no written records, we don't actually know very much about them. However, the style influenced later artists such as Picasso.

From the Assyrian section: a replica of a wood and bronze gate built by one of the Assyrian kings. The doors are made of wood and fastened together by intricately detailed strips of bronze. The original bronze pieces are displayed on either side of the gate.

This is London Bridge. It was pretty boring, really.

The Globe!

A view of the stage from where I was standing. The girl in the front of the picture is actually leaning on the edge of the stage, which gives you an idea of how close I was.

The seating around the edge of the theater. When it started raining, I couldn't help but think how nice it must be to not have to stand in the rain...but then again, the stage isn't completely covered either, so the actors got wet as well.

The Tower of London, from the outside. It's actually a lot of towers. The tall part that you can see towards the right side of the photo is the White Tower, I think.

The White Tower as seen from inside the walls. Oh, and me.

There were Yeoman Warders all over the place. The front of their uniforms says E II R, which I assume means Elizabeth II Regina (Latin for Queen).

This monument stands near the original scaffold site, where a variety of interesting historical characters were executed. The top layer has some of their names, including Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Gray; the lower layer has a poem inscribed on it.

This is Traitors Gate, the water entrance to the Tower.

I didn't stay for the whole "raree show," but I did take a couple of pictures. This was before the guy started extolling the benefits of warm crocodile dung as an anti-aging cream...

"You're MAD!" (Actually, I kind of agree with her.)

I don't think I would have even noticed this monument if it hadn't been for the exhibit at the Imperial War Museum...I saw it as I was leaving the Tower to find lunch.