At first, We were going to walk to the British Museum from King's Cross Station while sightseeing, but as the rain got heavy, we took a taxi. It was the first time to get on a taxi in London and I could use my contactless card for payment. It was very handy and helpful for tourists.
By the way, I was surprised to know that the admission charge was free. I wondered how they managed to raise money to administer the Museum. I was thankful to the authorities for free admission, but some people seemed to just drop in at the Museum to get out of the rain. Anyone can easily enter, i.e. it meant congestion.
My purpose was to take a close look at the Rosetta Stone. I learned this stone and the archeologists' struggle to decipher ancient letters on it through the world history class in my high school days. I got an adventurous spirit in archeology or the stone stirred up my imaginations of ancient times. I decided to visit the British Museum some day at that time. After 50 years since, I was able to see the stone at a few feet away. Where was the Rosetta Stone in the vast museum? Actually, it was placed just in front of the entrance, which saved a world of trouble, you know, as I needn't try to search for it. To my regret, however, Hieroglyph, the ancient Egyptian language, was carved on the highest part of the stone, and I was a little short to look at it in the crowd. The museum housed a huge amount of exhibits. I'd like to visit it again.
(Vocabulary)
decipher 〈手書きの文字など〉 を判読する, 〈意味・気持ちなど〉 を読み取る; 〈暗号など〉 を解読する
キングスクロス駅から市内見物をしながら大英博物館まで歩くつもりだったが、雨が酷くなりタクシーを利用した。ロンドンで初めてタクシーを使ったが、ここでもコンタクトレスカードが使えた。このシステムは実に有り難い。
さて、大英博物館であるが、驚いたのは入場無料と言うこと。維持管理費はどのように捻出しているのだろうか？無料なのは有り難いが、雨宿りで入っている人も多いような気がした。誰でも入れる、すなわち混雑。
ここへ立ち寄った理由は、ロゼッタストーンの実物を見たかったこと。高校時代に世界史の授業でこの石の存在を知ったが、書かれてあるヒエログリフ文字の解読にまつわる話には考古学へのロマンを感じた。この石が広い博物館の中のどこにあるのか、探すまでもなく、最初に入った部屋の真正面に置かれていた。残念なことに、ヒエログリフは三種類の文字のうち一番上に書かれていて、じっくり見るには身長が足りなかった。何はともあれ、ここには数多くの展示物があり、また訪れたいと思う。
Comments