I Am Ashurbanipal - ★★★★★ - Until February 21, 2019


Never heard of Ashurbanipal? A reminder that empires come and go and we all live with an illusion of our permanence. The story of this educated, but brutal, Assyrian monarch is fascinating and very well told. The display completely captures the imagination and reminds us of a civilization that existed around 600 BCE and which was literate, had an amazing library and created impressive and beautiful monuments and works of art. They even had a postal system! The story of the conquests and the activities of the royal court are quite entrancing and the use of light to highlight the narratives carved in stone works brilliantly. We only wished it had been used on even more exhibits. The conclusion of the exhibit with a look as to what has happened in modern day Iraq is heartbreaking. But even in this reminder that the our own civilization is also temporal and sometimes a very thin veneer covering the dark forces of barbarism, there is hope for a new generation which can value and learn from an amazing past. Not to be missed.

Reviewed by J.C.

 Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆☆ 

COST: £17 (Concessions available)

 WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until February 24, 2019
Daily: 10 am - 5:30 pm & Fri till 8:30 pm, before closing.
Time slots every 10 minutes. Last entry 80 minutes before closing.
British Museum
Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road or Holborn
Map & Location: Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG, UK

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