Museum of London

On June 8th we visited the Museum of London which was really interesting.  The museum begins with prehistoric London, where we could look at the various kinds of tools and weapons that have been uncovered by archeologist over time.  I was surprised by the general beauty of these artifacts.  The spears and shields were decorated and nicely crafted.  There is so much history underneath every stone here in London and Olmert told us that every time someone plans to dig anywhere, there must be an archeologist on site.

The next section on Londonium was also cool but had some weird display items, like iPhones and other modern conveniences to contrast with the artifacts.  By the end it was clear that it was a student designed exhibit but it was still pretty cool especially considering teenagers helped design it.  
There were also a few really awesome exhibits on the Black Plague and the Fire of London.  We learned that the Plague killed over 40,000 people in London between 1348 and 1350, while 50 million people died throughout Europe.  The video was pretty scary but I enjoyed watching it.  The video for the Fire of London was also pretty scary but very informative.  The fire started on September 2nd 1666 around 1am in Thomas Farriner's bakery and lasted for 5 days.  There was this one plaque that I found particularly amusing which described who and what people blamed for the fire.  My favorite was the idea that Gluttony was to blame because the fire began in a bakery on Pudding Lane.  By the end of it all 4/5ths of the city was destroyed and 10,000 people became homeless.  It took 50 years to rebuild the city but neither the plague nor this terrible fire prevented London from becoming one of the most important cities in the world for centuries to come. 

The Modern London section was also really interesting.  The suffragette exhibit was particularly moving for me.  I was appalled by the heinous treatment these women endured for the right to vote.  It blew my mind how people could be so cruel to women who just wanted to make life better for themselves.  This one suffragette was force fed over 250 times in two weeks while incarcerated - absolutely horrifying.  This exhibit made me appreciate my right to vote and I am so grateful for what these brave women did for the women's well being.  Even if I disagree with our nations political system, it just feels wrong to abstain from voting because it negates all the horrors these women endured.  Overall the London Museum was awesomely moving and I am really glad we had so much time to explore through it.