Oxford Pitt Rivers Museum

The Pitt Rivers Museum, which houses Oxford University's archaeology and anthropology collections, is a must-visit if you ever go to Oxford, indeed when i told my friend i was going to the city (last October) i was told i simply had to go there and see the "shrunken heads"!

In 1884 General Pitt Rivers, an influential figure in archaeology and developmental anthropology, donated his collection of around 20,000 objects to the university to help found the museum. Other early anthropologists also donated items and the collection has been augmented by donations, bequests and field work ever since. Now over half a million items are in the collection ranging from totem poles and canoes, to clothing and shrunken heads.

The museum retains its original Victorian era charm and the organisation of the collection is by item type and function, not geographical location as is more usual.