The Egyptian Galleries | Room 4

This long, spectacular gallery, stretching almost the length of the museum’s west side, houses sculptures and artifacts from about 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian civilization. It features spectacular busts, elaborately engraved sarcophagi and the museum’s most popular exhibit — the Rosetta Stone, dating from 196 B.C. and inscribed with near-identical texts in three scripts, which allowed linguists to develop an understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs through comparison.

Why It’s Must See: These exhibits give an instant idea of the magnificence, ambition and sophistication of ancient Egyptian culture.

What to Look For: A giant sculpture of a scarab beetle, with tenderly carved and curving legs, and an enormous bust of Ramesses II, which inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “ Ozymandias .”

Nearby: Adjacent to the long Egyptian gallery is part of the museum’s Middle East collection. In Room 6, you’ll find the incredible human-headed, winged lion statues (883-859 B.C.) that formed the gates to the throne room of King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria (which we now call northern Iraq). And yes, they do have five legs, because they were designed to be seen either from the front or from the side.

Note: The gallery gets crowded, because it is located next to the museum’s main entrance. Arrive early, and dash in here first for the best experience.