Weapons, military and armour-related stuff in the Museum of London

I want to thank Matt Easton with ‘Schola Gladiatoria’ for recommending museums worth visiting in London.

I’ve lived in London for quite some time now, but for some reason I’ve never been to most of the places Matt mentions in his video.

I’m not so much of a history or archaeology person. But I like all the old weapons and stuff. I’m also into bushcraft and martial arts, which actually fits in quite nicely. So, after listening to Matt’s suggestions I made a list of museums I want to see and decided to visit one every weekend.

I thought it’d be useful to some of you to post some pictures and show exactly what is interesting to see and where. Bear in mind, those are pictures taken with a phone through glass in a dark place, so they’re far from perfect.

IMG_2247 IMG_2248 IMG_2249 IMG_2250 IMG_2251 IMG_2252

The trip begins with ‘London before London’. This part has a lot of flint and bronze tools and weapons, as well as human and nonhuman bones. Some of which had been pretty badly damaged in battle – the most likely cause of death.

Next we have Roman times – Roman London – (unfortunately not in pictures) with some interesting architecture, tools and clothes.

IMG_2253 IMG_2254 IMG_2255 IMG_2256 IMG_2257 IMG_2258 IMG_2259 IMG_2260 IMG_2261 IMG_2262 IMG_2263 IMG_2264 IMG_2265 IMG_2266 IMG_2267IMG_2268 IMG_2269

After that, we are taken to ‘Medieval London’. Here we have a proper mail shirt, big and small swords, shields and bucklers, spear points, Viking battle axes and all the cool stuff you’ve been waiting for. But what drew my attention was the small things I’d never seen before. Medieval kitchen knives, knife sheaths, boots and shoes and even a simple working glove. I always wondered what those things looked like back then. Were they similar to what we see today? If not, what was different and why? Here you can find answers to some of those questions.

IMG_2270 IMG_2271

There are many more interesting exhibitions such as ‘The Victorian Walk’. I only focused on the parts that related most to the topic of historical weapons and armour.
Mind you, seeing those things live is a completely different experience. Plus, you can actually touch some of them, pick them up and even play with them.
Enjoy 🙂