Editing British Museum

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[[File:ACLD Locus - British Museum.png|thumb|250px|The British Museum in 1872]]
The '''British Museum''' is a public museum dedicated to human history and culture located in London, England. First established in 1753, it currently houses one of the largest collections in the world.<ref name="Wiki">{{WP|British Museum}}</ref> The building first used by the museum was the {{Wiki|Montagu House, Bloomsbury|Montagu House}} built in 1675 by [[Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[Database: Montagu House]]</ref>

Construction of the building that would replace the Montagu House began in the 1820s at the same location,<ref name="Wiki"/> and the museum was closed to the public, with only a few sections open to scholars. By 1861, the new building had already been unveiled and the museum reopened.Among its many features figured a new reading room as well as sections dedicated to housing artifacts from the Romans, the Assyrians and the Egyptians. The museum lacked candles or lamps for fear of a fire and remained open only until natural light from the outside permitted, with some days having to close early due to the London fog.<ref name ="Magus">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy]]'' – Chapter 19</ref>

==History==
===19th century===
[[File:ACLD Locus - Mark Twain before the British Museum map.png|left|thumb|250px|Mark Twain near the museum's map]]
In October 1861, after his return to London, [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Simeon Price]] read a short news item on {{Wiki|The Times}} about an Assyrian eye artifact being discovered amidst the museum's recent acquisitions from excavations at {{Wiki|Nimrud}}, [[Mesopotamia]]. Expecting the news to be a trap set by his former mentor [[Oscar Kane]], Simeon had his protégé [[Pierrette Arnaud]] visit the [[Crystal Palace]] while going to the British Museum by himself. At the museum, Simeon found Kane and was given the ultimatum of either joining Kane or being arrested for desertion as he had already summoned the police. While trying to escape, Simeon broke his leg and was ultimately arrested.<ref name ="Magus"/>

In 1872, the museum was discovered to hold pages of the [[Voynich manuscript]] by the [[American Rite of the Templar Order]], as well as by  [[Horace Greeley]], who had a mole amidst [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s administration. The [[Templars]] had their field agent [[Alice (Templar)|Alice]] travel to London after the pages.  A first attempt by her to recover them was seemingly foiled by [[Mark Twain]], [[Pinkerton]] detective [[Tommy Greyling]] and Sergeant [[Frederick Abberline]], though she managed to evade capture through the museum's rooftops.<ref name="Locus 1">''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus 1|Issue #01]]</ref> The next day the group, aided by Assassins [[Evie Frye]] and [[Jayadeep Mir]], would learn that the chase was a distraction: while Alice was on the rooftops, she had crooked constable [[Niall Hobday]] retrieve the personal details of Head Clerk of Acquisitions [[Edward Feather]]. Needing to locate the item quickly, she kidnapped and tortured Feather until he told her the number of the box where the pages had been archived.<ref name="Locus 2">''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus 2|Issue #02]]</ref>
[[File:ACLocus - Tommy and Evie confronts Alice.jpg|thumb|250px|Alice being confronted in the Reading Room]]
After setting a trap at a slaughterhouse, Alice returned to the museum, accompannied by several [[Blighters]], and searched the Aquisitions Department managing to locate the pages before being confronted by the Assassins and the police. While the Blighters and the others traded shots in the department, she attempted to slip away but was stopped by Evie and Tommy at the museum's reading room. Alice then threw a smoke bomb, which forced Evie to stay behind and attempt to control any fire that could arise from a stray spark while she slipped away, pursued by Tommy.<ref name="Locus 3">''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus 3|Issue #03]]</ref>

Also in the mid-to-late 1800s, the museum exhibited a mysterious ancient artifact that attracted the attention of both Assassins and Templars, though an Assassin-affiliated group managed to swap the artifact for a counterfeit and hide the original.<ref name="ACRPG">''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]] – [[Legacy of the Brotherhood]]'' – Jacob & Evie Frye: Adventure Hook 4</ref>

===21st century===
In 2016, an [[Assassin cell]] tracking down the [[Rings of Seth]] uncovered references to ancient [[Egypt]]ian culture while investigating petroglyphs in [[New Orleans]],<ref name="Present-day New Orleans">''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]] – [[Forging History]]'' – [[Howling at the Fire]] – Sequence Hooks: "Present-day New Orleans"</ref> leading them towards a particular sarcophagus unearthed in 1932 in the [[Valley of the Kings]].<ref name="Hackney Diamonds">''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]] – [[Forging History]]'' – [[Hackney Diamonds]]</ref> Upon discovering that the sarcophagus had been loaned to the British Museum by the [[Egyptian Museum]] of [[Cairo]],<ref name="Mysterious Origins">''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]] – [[Forging History]]'' – [[The Great Egyptian Discovery]] – Sequence Hooks: "Mysterious Origins"</ref> the group travelled to London.<ref name="Hackney Diamonds"/> During their first museum visit, the group scrutinized the sarcophagus and a [[Ring of Sand|ring]] beside it in exhibition, surveyed CCTV cameras, identified access points into the building, and noted other security devices.<ref name="Visiting Hours">''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]] – [[Forging History]]'' – [[Howling at the Fire]]: Sequence Hooks: "Visiting Hours"</ref> At night, the group shut down the cameras and infiltrated the building silently, though this silence was shortlived when a [[vampire]] threw a security guard against the display case housing the ring and attacked them. The group managed to subdue their attacker, removing another [[Ring of Blood|ring]] from their finger, but the time that took allowed for the cameras to reactivate and the alarm to begin blaring. With guards and local [[police]] on their way, the group nonetheless managed to leave the museum without being apprehended.<ref name="Hackney Diamonds"/>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' {{Mdat}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Locus]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Landmarks in London]]