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Abstract
Fractured mountains: quartz crystals and the Cairngorms
Dr Sarah Laurenson is Principal Curator of Modern and Contemporary History and Head of the Modern and Contemporary History Section. She is responsible for the Scottish collections representing cultural, social, political, military and domestic history from c.1750 to the present.Laurenson, Sarah
collections, Scottish material culture, mountains, fragmented objects , research, natural environment, and mineralogy
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Book
The material landscapes of Scotland’s jewellery craft, 1780-1914
During the long 19th century, Scotland was home to an established body of skilled jewellers who were able to access a range of materials from the country's varied natural landscape: precious gold and silver; sparkling crystals and colourful stones; freshwater pearls, shells and parts of rare animals. Following these materials...Laurenson, Sarah
contemporary collecting, crafts, precious metals, Scotland, jewellery, natural environment, and material culture
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Blog post
The Black Watch at National Museum of Scotland
Rosie Waine is the William Grant Foundation Research Fellow at the National Museum of Scotland. Here she writes how the Black Watch Museum & Castle collection contributed to the exhibition she has curated called Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland. -
Research report
Scottish Wildcat Action: Final Summary Report
The wildcat, Felis silvestris, is one of our most iconic species. Elusive and rarely seen, it is threatened by a combination of extremely challenging factors, in particular hybridisation with domestic cats. Its secretive nature has made it a difficult animal to study in the wild, making it harder to design...Kitchener, Andrew C
Felis silvestris, ecology , population, and wildcat
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Journal article
Collecting the nation in the museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1832–91
The sixty-year period from 1832 to 1891 was key to the development of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and its museum, during which time its collection was transferred to national ownership and greater emphasis began to be placed on social and cultural history. This article analyses acquisition data to... -
Other
The Daniel Wilson Scrapbook Listing
Sir Daniel Wilson (1816-1892) was an archaeologist, author, antiquarian and Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland from 1845 - 1853). Wilson donated his scrapbook (which he referred to as his "Memorials of Auld Reekie") to the Society. It contains illustrations of Edinburgh and other material, some of which...National Museums Scotland
Archives, Leith, Edinburgh, Library, Memorials of Edinburgh in the olden time , Sir Daniel Wilson FSA (Scot) (January 5, 1816 – August 6, 1892), engravings, and Index
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Lecture
Metal Detecting and Treasure Trove in Scotland
Did you know that in Scotland, archaeological artefacts found by members of the public are considered 'Treasure Trove' and can be claimed to enable them to end up in museums. But what is Treasure Trove, and how do you make sure you're following the rules and metal detecting responsibly, in...Flynn, Sophie
Scotland, metal detecting, portable antiquities, recording and processing finds, and Treasure Trove Unit
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Doctoral thesis
“A Co-operation of Observers”: Crafting knowledge infrastructures for microscopy
In 1887, the President of the British Postal Microscopical Society, J. W. Measures, declared that "the beginner is unable to learn from the books on the microscope all the minutiae of so fine an art as mounting (microscope specimens). "1 The preparation of microscope slides, the observation of specimens, as...Beiermann, Lea
scientific instruments, craft knowledge, citizen science, and microscopes
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Journal article
Seasonal Adaptation: Geographic Photoperiod–Temperature Patterns Explain Genetic Variation in the Common Vole Tsh Receptor
The vertebrate photoperiodic neuroendocrine system uses the photoperiod as a proxy to time the annual rhythms in reproduction. The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is a key protein in the mammalian seasonal reproduction pathway. Its abundance and function can tune sensitivity to the photoperiod. To investigate seasonal adaptation in mammals, the hinge... -
Journal article
Two Enlightenment collections of scientific instruments in Hanoverian Britain
This lecture looks at the long-dispersed eighteenth-century collections of scientific instruments formed by two wealthy Scots noblemen, who turn out to be related to one another. They were Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay, later third Duke of Argyll, and his nephew, John Stuart, third Earl of Bute.Morrison-Low, Alison
scientific instrument collection, George Adams the Elder, John Stuart, Richard Glynne, and Archibald Campbell
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Abstract
Presenting a complex hoard deposit – the Galloway Hoard
The Galloway Hoard is the focus of an ongoing research project at National Museums Scotland examining a complex Viking-age deposit composed of multiple parcels, with organic preservation and a variety of materials (gold, silver, copper-alloy, glass, rock crystal, minerals, leather, wood, wool, silk, linen, and animal gut). There may be...Goldberg, Martin
Viking-age hoards, Galloway Hoard , rock crystal, minerals, wool, research project, wood, animal gut, silk, linen, gold, copper-alloy, leather, silver, and glass
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Journal article
Gerhard Bersu in Scotland, and his excavations at Traprain Law in context
Bersu’s excavations on the hillfort of Traprain Law in south-east Scotland are reviewed in the light of his British and Irish digs and other work on the hill itself. It differs from the rest of his British excavations, which mostly focussed on houses, but is entirely in keeping with his...Hunter, Fraser ; Armit, Ian ; Dunwell, Andrew
Scotstarvit, League of Prehistorians, hillfort , O. G. S. Crawford , Traprain Law, Vere Gordon Childe, and roundhouses
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Lecture
Instruments, Institutions and Individuals: The Local Networks of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, in the 19th Century
Dr Rebekah Higgitt has been Principal Curator of Science at National Museums Scotland since August 2020. She was previously Senior Lecturer in History of Science at the University of Kent and Curator of History of Science at Royal Museums Greenwich, having done her PhD at Imperial College London and postdoctoral...Higgitt, Rebekah
19th century, scientific instruments, Edinburgh, Astronomy, and Royal Observatory
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Journal article
First recorded stranding of a short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, in Britain
A male pilot whale, Globicephala sp., was reported as a live stranding on 1st March 2012 at Hazelbeach, near Neyland, Pembrokeshire. It was euthanased and its skull was recovered during an onsite necropsy. Examination of the skull and contemporary photographs of the stranded animal confirm that this is the first...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hantke, Georg ; Penrose, R S ; Perkins, M W ; Deaville, R
Globicephala melas, Delphinidae, skull, and Globicephala macrorhynchus
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Magazine article
The Seafield Collection: A unique collection of arms and armour in Scotland
Within the imposing setting of Fort George in the Scottish Highlands, an impressive collection of weaponry and equipment is displayed in the eighteenth century Grand Magazine (figure 1). All the objects on display relate to the short-lived service of units raised in the 1790s by the landowner, politician, and hereditary...Robertson, Calum
Clan Grant, Castle Grant, arms and armour, Scotland, digitisation, and Seafield Collection
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Abstract
Artefacts and Advocacy
Technical artefacts have many meanings over the course of their use-life and museum after life. By engaging with audiences thoughtfully and openly, science museums can use their objects' dynamic biographies to address global challenges we face today. Not least of these is human-induced rapid climate change. Take the trusty tractor...Alberti, S J M M
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Presentation
Preparing to Borrow
Brownlee, Yvonne
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Abstract
STICKing Together
This talk considers the role of the Subject Specialist Network (SSN) in the industrial heritage sector through an examination of STICK, the Scottish Transport and Industrial Collections Knowledge Network. STICK was formed in 2006 and has become one of Scotland’s most successful SSNs. Its newsletter, social media and events bring...Swinbank, Ellie
Agents and processes for safeguarding and conservation and Training of professionals in conservation of industrial and technological heritage
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Journal article
Phenotypic plasticity determines differences between the skulls of tigers from mainland Asia
Tiger subspecific taxonomy is controversial because of morphological and genetic variation found between now fragmented populations, yet the extent to which phenotypic plasticity or genetic variation affects phenotypes of putative tiger subspecies has not been explicitly addressed. In order to assess the role of phenotypic plasticity in determining skull variation,... -
Journal article
Joseph Anderson (1832–1916) and the Scottish historical collection in the Antiquities Museum, 1869 to 1892
Joseph Anderson (1832–1916) was an influential figure within the history of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Scottish archaeology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But while Anderson is best known for his contribution to the development of Scottish prehistoric and early medieval archaeology, there has been...Holder, Julie
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Presentation
Guest Curator at Craft Scotland Conference 2022 - The Power of Glass Symposium at the National Museum of Scotland
Sarah Rothwell is the Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design, in the Department of Global Arts, Cultures and Design at National Museums Scotland (NMS). Where she is responsible for the British, European and other 'Western' glass, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery and industrial design circa 1945-present collections. Her research focuses on...Rothwell, Sarah
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Book review
Gordon J. Barclay & Ron Morris. 2019. The fortification of the Firth of Forth 1880–1977: ‘The most powerful naval fortress in the British Empire’. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Naval defences, unlike those typically constructed by land forces, are often impermanent or invisible: floating blockades deployed across the surface of the water or mines laid deep beneath it. This reality can pose real challenges for the interpretation of such historic sites, despite their significance or wider appeal. Remnants of...Robertson, Calum
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Book chapter
'I have had a great day': A O Curle and the discovery of the Traprain Treasure
The recovery of the Traprain Treasure was by far the greatest moment in Alexander Ormiston Curle's antiquarian career [Illus 1.1]. It is safe to assume that at the outset of the work in East Lothian on behalf of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, he had no expectation of such...Clarke, David
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Journal article
Edmund Jarzembowski at 70: An appreciation
Edmund Aleksander Jarzembowski (BSc PhD FGS FRES) is currently a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow; Scientific Associate (researcher) at The Natural History Museum London (NHMUK); and Professor at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS), Nanjing, specializing in the study of fossil insects (palaeoentomology).Austen, Peter A ; Wang, Bo ; Ross, Andrew J ; Coram, Robert A
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Journal article
Middle Jurassic fossils document an early stage in salamander evolution
Salamanders are an important group of living amphibians and model organisms for understanding locomotion, development, regeneration, feeding, and toxicity in tetrapods. However, their origin and early radiation remain poorly understood, with early fossil stem-salamanders so far represented by larval or incompletely known taxa. This poor record also limits understanding of...Jones, Marc E H ; Benson, Roger B J ; Skutschas, Pavel ; Hill, Lucy ; Panciroli, Elsa …
AMPHIBIANS , PHYLOGENY , JURASSIC , SALAMANDER, and EVOLUTION
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Journal article
Anatomy: A matter of death and life
Dr Tacye Phillipson explores what was behind the demand for a supply of dead bodies in 19th-century Edinburgh - and how and why this grisly practice cam to an end.Phillipson, Tacye
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Blog post
GeoCASe 2.0 and the evolution of data from physical specimen to the digital
As Principal Curator of the National Museums Scotland’s (NMS) 200 year old ‘Earth System collection, a collection of 70000 minerals, rocks and meteorites, one of my responsibilities is to ensure the collection puts its best foot forward into the Digital Era. So for the past few years, I have lead...Walcott, Rachel
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Le voir, le faire et la matière : l’art celtique comme processus
Ginoux, Nathalie ; Gosden, Chris ; Hoppe, Thomas ; Hunter, Fraser ; Krausse, Dirk …
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Conference paper (unpublished)
The Galloway Hoard: entangled identities in the material culture of a unique Viking-age assemblage
Goldberg, D Martin
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Did the Picts disappear? Beyond colonial approaches to the Viking Age in Scotland
Maldonado, Adrián
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Lecture
Museums and Medical Knowledge: past, present, and future
Although populated by the dead, medical museums are for the living. From their roots in the Enlightenment, medical practitioners have gathered pathological and anatomical material for clinical and educational benefit. This practice reached its zenith around 1900, when Maude Abbott led a generation of medical curators who gathered, arranged and...Alberti, S J M M
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Poster (unpublished)
CryoArks – The UK’s first zoological biobank
National Museums Scotland and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are partners in a UK-wide collaboration to create the UK’s first comprehensive zoological Biobank network for research and conservation.Kitchener, Andrew C ; Murray-Dickson , Gill
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Poster (unpublished)
The wet collections of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902-1904
Ware, Fiona
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Lecture
An introduction to the marine invertebrate wet collections at National Museums Scotland
Natural History Wet collectionsWare, Fiona
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Lecture
Waking the Dead: promoting and recording Carrion beetles
A talk from the 2022 NFBR Conference at Oxford University Museum of Natural HistoryWhiffin, Ashleigh
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Journal article
Scottish Birds Records Committee report on rare birds in Scotland, 2020
This is the 13th annual report of the Scottish Birds Records Committee (SBRC) describing rare birds recorded in Scotland during 2020. Details of previous annual reports that cover the period 2005 to 2019 can be found listed in McInerny & McGowan (2021), some of which are cited in this reportMcInerny, C ; McGowan, R Y
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Journal article
Reintroducing the Vikings into Scotland's story
Dr Adrián Maldonado takes anothe rlook at the formation of Scotland, to ask whether we should recalibrate our images of the 'Vikings' to include more than just people of Norse descent.Maldonado, Adrián
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Blog post
On the edge: COP 15 and disappearing species
With COP 15 taking place in China this month, Principal Curator of Vertebrates Andrew Kitchener explores the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker. Thought to be extinct, but with potential sightings still reported, this bird is just one of many species we’re at risk of losing forever.Kitchener, Andrew C
Conservation , Birds , Natural Sciences , Audubon , and Natural World
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Blog post
A great slaughter: The extinction of the Carolina parakeet
The Carolina parakeet is the poster bird for our Audubon’s Birds of America exhibition. Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Biology, Zena Timmons, explores the decline of this bird species, information revealed by our specimens and how an extinct species can be recreated through taxidermy.Timmons, Zena
Taxidermy, Natural Sciences, Exhibitions, Birds, Conservation, and Audubon
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Journal article
Genetic integrity of European wildcats: Variation across biomes mandates geographically tailored conservation strategies
Hybridisation between domestic and wild taxa can pose severe threats to wildlife conservation, and human-induced hybridisation, often linked to species' introductions and habitat degradation, may promote reproductive opportunities between species for which natural interbreeding would be highly unlikely. Using a biome-specific approach, we examine the effects of a suite of...Protected area management, Biomes, Felis silvestris, Conservation, and Hybridisation
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Journal article
Scientists, collectors and illustrators: the roles of women in the Palaeontographical Society
Women have taken on a range of roles in scientific societies since the early twentieth century. The oldest society dedicated to palaeontology, the Palaeontographical Society, was established in 1847 principally for the publication of monographs on British fossils. Since its foundation, women have been involved, initially as collectors and illustrators,... -
Book chapter
Brooches from the Antonine Wall
The discovery of a number of brooches in the course of the excavations in the Falkirk district has prompted a review of the brooches known from the Antonine WallHunter, Fraser
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Journal article
Science and the City: Spaces and geographies of Metropolitan Science
The Metropolitan Science research project, based at the University of Kent from 2017–2020 and designed to run alongside the Science City gallery project, explores the significant place of craft, trade and commercial institutions in the development of London’s technical and experimental knowledge cultures. Drawing on this research, this paper presents...Higgitt, Rebekah ; Kilburn-Toppin, Jasmine ; Moxham, Noah
trade, London, commerce, institutions, practice, craft, early modern, knowledge, and spaces