A silver cup that offers a rare glimpse into the world of sexual love in ancient Rome. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the Warren cup, which features such explicit images of homosexual acts that it was once...

Stone pipe shaped as an otter and used in ritual tobacco-smoking. The pipe is one of hundreds shaped as animals that were found in huge mounds in present-day Ohio. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, pieces together the...

A ceremonial stone belt from central America. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the ceremonial version of the leather and fibre padding used in an ancient ball game - the world's oldest-known organised sport....

Chinese scroll with advice for palace ladies on correct behavior. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores this eleven foot painting based on a poem, which attempted to define the proper behavior for women during the...

A silver pepper pot from a Roman treasure hoard found buried in England. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how the elite of Roman Britain sustained their appetite for luxury goods and good living in the years...

One of the earliest images of the seated Buddha. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how Buddhism set about creating the classic image to represent the real life Buddha, who lived and roamed around North India in the...

Gold coin from the Gupta empire, showing a goddess and a horse. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the Hindu images of gods and goddesses that can be found on coins from the Gupta empire, which flourished in India...

Silver plate showing Sasanian King Shapur II, who ruled Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at power and faith in 4th Century Iran. He describes how an apparently secular image of King Shapur...

Mosaic of one of the earliest known images of Christ. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at this mosaic which was made somewhere around the year 350 and was found on the floor of a Roman villa in Dorset. He explores...

Life sized bronze hand with writing on the back. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the religious climate of pre-Islamic Arabia, its wealth of local gods and imported beliefs. The bronze hand is not part of a god,...

Gold coins from Syria. Neil McGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at how the Syrian capital Damascus was rapidly becoming the centre of a new Islamic empire. He tells the story through two gold coins that perfectly capture the...

Helmet found in the grave of an Anglo-Saxon warrior king. Neil McGregor, Director of the British Museum, travels to East Anglia to describe the sensational burial discovery that has been hailed as a "British Tutankhamen". He looks at the...

Pot in the shape of a kneeling warrior, made by the Moche in South America. Neil McGregor, Director of the British Museum, uncovers what life and culture was like in South America at a time when, a continent away, Islam was transforming...

Roof tile with image of an intimidating face intended to scare evil spirits from a house. The tile is from Kyongju, the ancient capital of Korea. Similar tiles were used earlier in China, but once introduced into the Korean peninsula,...

Fragile silk painting telling story of industrial espionage. Neil McGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the Buddhist kingdom of Khotan, now in Western China, and tells a powerful story about how the secrets of silk...

Maya temple carving showing a scene of ritual blood-letting. Neil MacGregor, Director of British Museum, looks at a limestone carving showing a king and his wife, who is piercing her tongue to induce pain and provoke a visionary trance....

Crystal engraved with images from the Biblical story of Susanna. Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, looks at the Lothair Crystal, made in the mid-9th century and showing scenes of Susanna, wife of a rich merchant, falsely...

Statue of female Buddhist deity Tara from Sri Lanka, who represents mercy and compassion. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores what was happening in South Asia during Europe's medieval period. He tells the story...

Ceramic figures from the burial of a Chinese Tang general. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, describes how, around 700 AD, the elite of China's Tang Dynasty chose to leave their mark on the world by writing or commissioning...

Hoard of coins and other items buried in a silver cup. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a great Viking treasure hoard that was discovered by metal detectors in a field in North Yorkshire. This recent discovery...

Glass beaker from central Europe probably made by a Muslim craftsman. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a glass beaker made in Syria or Egypt at a time when Christians were warring with Muslims in the crusades. The...

Bronze mirror decorated with dancing cranes. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at this mirror which comes from a time when the Japanese suddenly cut themselves off from the outside world and stopped all official...

Head of a Buddha statue from Borobudur in Java. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a stone head from Borobudur, one of the world's greatest monuments. He looks at the monument, which is built from one-and-a-half...

Pieces of broken pottery found on the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, off the coast of Tanzania. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, sifts through a selection of broken pots, found on a beach. He finds the variety of glazes and...