Babylon

We might know about the Tower of Babel, the Hanging Gardens and Nebuchadnezzar's madness but the city of Babylon (in modern-day Iraq) also brought us the sixty-part division of the minute and the hour, certain mathematical concepts, the zodiac and astrology. An amazingly rich legacy in art, ranging from paintings to contemporary film and music, is explored in the BM's exhibition, which brings together more than 100 objects including ancient sculptures and famous paintings such as William Blake's 'Nebuchadnezzar' and John Martin's 'Belshazzar's Feast' to look at the myths and stories about the city and try to establish whether they are rooted in fact.