Day 44 Oxford 30 May 2018

Today as it turned out was a big day. Elizabeth had her hair done, we visited the Natural History and Pitt-Rivers Museums which are located next to each other. 

The biggest tip we can give to people visiting is to always look up.

The Pitt-Rivers Museum had some extraordinary items and was organised by theme. They had every aspect of human culture from toys to weapons to treatment of enemies.

We visited the Bodleian Library, going through their suffragette exhibition which was very illuminating. They had a tiny exhibition of Necessity and Invention: science from the Great War.  

We then visited the Ashmolean Museum Part 1. They have a world class Minoan collection, in fact probably the best in the world.

They had things that we had never ever seen. The lantern held by Guy Fawkes of Gunpowder Plot, rare Roman gold glass. the Alfred jewel, an outfit of Lawrence of Arabia.  There was also the death mask of Oliver Cromwell. When his portrait was done, it was suggested that he not paint the warts, but Cromwell told him to paint it 'warts and all', and thus the expression.

Here is Chief Powhatan's cloak (c. 1545-1618). He was a first nation's leader at the time of the first English settlement in 1607 at Jamestown. WOW!