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Lecture
‘Two Enlightenment collections of scientific instruments in Hanoverian Britain’
Research into scientific instrument collections over the past forty years has shown that it is only relatively recently that instruments have been collected for antiquarian reasons. This lecture will discuss two long-dispersed collections owned by two Scottish noblemen, and attempt to characterise the reasons for their contents. Both collectors were...Morrison-Low, Alison
microscope, astronomical device, scientific instruments, collectors, and museum collections
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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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Conference paper (unpublished)
Concrete Cairns: Bunker Museums and Cold War Memory on Britain’s Peripheries
This paper will examine two Cold War bunkers in Scotland that have been converted into museums. Both buildings’ ‘cold’ lives and afterlives are integral to the curated stories within and the museums’ multiple meanings contested by communities previously kept out by barbed wire fences.Gledhill, Jim
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Doctoral thesis
Bombers, bunkers, and badges: The Cold War materialised in National Museums Scotland
How does an object become a Cold War object? Through its military installations, defence industry as well as the strength of its peace movement, Scotland was a key site of the Cold War in the UK. While there has been some research on how to classify such sites in the...Harper, Sarah Alexandra
Biography , Object , Cold War , and Material Culture
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Book chapter
Lithics
A total of seven flaked lithic artefacts and a flaked and ground stone axehead were recovered during the excavations at Morley Hill (Table 2.1).Anderson-Whymark, Hugo
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Video
Book of Hours inscribed by Mary, Queen of Scots
Delve into the pages of an exquisitely illuminated Book of Hours in which Mary, Queen of Scots, inscribed an affectionate verse in French to her great-aunt, Louise de Bourbon. Presented by Dr Anna Groundwater, Principal Curator of Renaissance and Early Modern History. The verse sits within a manuscript 'Book of...Groundwater, Anna
Mary, Queen of Scots, prayers and psalms, vellum, Book of Hours, and Louise de Bourbon
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Book
Actes de colloque : Hoarding and deposition in Europe from later prehistory to the medieval period – finds in context; London (UK), 12-14 June 2019.
The paper in this volume were presented at the conference Hoarding and deposition in Europe from later prehistory to the medieval period - finds in context. The conference was held at King's College, The Strand, London from 12-14 June 2019Knight, Matthew G
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Book chapter
Practices of metal deposition in Late Bronze Age Scotland
One of Eugène Warmenbol's many contributions has been to provide cross-contextual and nuanced perspectives on Bronze Age metalwork deposition in Europe. It is in this spirit that this contribution approaches metalwork from Late Bronze Age Scotland (1100-800BC), with focus on single finds, hoards and settlements. The ways in which objects...Knight, Matthew G
Scotland , settlements, hoards, Late Bronze Age , Eugène Warmenbol, finds, and metalwork deposition
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Book chapter
Coral in northern climates: an exotic coral bead from Iron Age Scotland and its implications
This paper is offered to Eugène in the spirit of his own wide-ranging research and his ability to extract good stories from finds. The first author met Eugène at an Edinburgh conference on 'Scotland in later prehistoric Europe', where he offered a masterly overview of the southern Low Countries over...Hunter, Fraser ; Fürst, Sebastian
rich finds assemblage, Scotland and Europe, Eugène Warmenbol, Broxmouth, Iron Age, and Bead of Mediterranean coral
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Book chapter
From Ultima Thule: fragmentation in the Bronze Age metalwork of Scotland
While ancient Thule was probably located beyond modern Scotland (Breeze & Wilkins 2018), the title of this contribution seems appropriate since Scotland was on the margin of the Bronze Age world depicted by Patrice Brun (1991: fig. 8, insert). After a brief period when copper and gold were used, bronze...O'Connor, Brendan ; Cowie, Trevor
Scottish metalwork, bronze axes, hoards, Bronze Age, gold, Scottish Archaeological Research Framework, Thule, and copper
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Blog post
Riddle me a creepie and a cruik: Scots words for household objects
Many of our objects speak to the rich heritage of the Scots language. Whether you came to see our ‘flauchters’ or were ‘conflummixt’ by our collection of ‘creepies’ or ‘crusies’, many of these object names have a beguiling origin and unexpected uses far removed from their original purpose. In this...Taylor, Oliver
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Journal article
Collecting stories
Dr John Giblin introduces a brand new gallery at National Museum of Scotland, which delves into how the items collected by the museum have come together over the past two centuries.Giblin, John
Arctic life, The Tytler collection, Lady John Scott, Imperial war art, museum, scientific instruments, Collecting stories, Treasure Trove, and Scotland
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Blog post
Entangled Knowledges: Sharing collections in Albany
Since 2021 Ali and Andrew have been participating in a project which aims to highlight Menang Nyungar knowledge embedded in a historical collection of fishes and cultural objects and return this knowledge to the Menang community in Western Australia. Here they tell us about this collection, their recent visit to...Clark, Ali ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Research, Collections , Fish , and Colonial Histories And Legacies
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Blog post
Period products for a 21st century Scotland
Tampons, pads, and menstrual cups are everyday objects used by many though rarely considered noteworthy. But what can a group of period products say about the social and environmental concerns of Scotland today? Georgia Vullinghs, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary History, discusses some recent acquisitions relating to the campaign...Vullinghs, Georgia
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Book chapter
Struck lithics
The extensive excavations at Bar Pasture recovered only a modest lithic assemblage of just 327 struck flints (Table 11). A sizeable quantity of burnt unworked flint (that is not discussed in detail here) was also recovered. The greater part of the assemblage dates from the Chalcolithic (Beaker) and Early Bronze...Anderson-Whymark, Hugo
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Book chapter
Lithics
Evidence for earlier prehistoric activity in the vicinity of Iron Age settlements is common in the north-east region, and the sites of Morley Hill and Lower Callerton are no exceptions. Pre-Iron Age activity tends to be scattered and smaller in scale, often appearing as a series of discrete pits, only...Anderson-Whymark, Hugo
Lithics, Mesolithic , Lower Callerton, Morley Hill , Bronze Age, Neolithic, and earlier prehistory
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Book chapter
Stone tools
The excavations at Lower Callerton revealed a multiphase Iron Age settlement consisting of 53 structures, multiple enclosures and linear boundaries which extended beyond the excavated area (Fig. 4.1). The activity was concentrated within Area 2, which measured c. 4.6 ha, with the removal of the topsoil revealing a settlement extending...Hunter, Fraser
Lower Callerton, excavations, settlement, Iron Age , and Stone tools
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Journal article
2. SCOTLAND
Sites explored in North of the Antonine Wall, The Antonine Wall, City of Glasgow, Falkirk and South of the Antonine Wall.Hunter, Fraser
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Blog post
Collecting a New Past
Museums have long been interested in collecting material culture of the present. Objects that demonstrate the design, technological, natural, and social stories and changes of today. More recently, ‘contemporary collecting’ has been given renewed attention as a specific approach to building museum collections. Georgia Vullinghs, Curator of Modern and Contemporary...Vullinghs, Georgia
Collections , Community Engagement, Contemporary Collecting, and Conservation
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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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Abstract
The long, strange journey of Viking-Age ringed pins
Ringed pins are the calling card of the Viking Age in Britain and Ireland: small, low-value metal cloak fasteners, found in dressed burials, and frequently encountered as stray finds. They have a complex trajectory, beginning as Irish dress items in the pre-Viking period. From the middle of the ninth century,...Maldonado, Adrián
Ireland, Scandinavia, burials, diaspora, Iceland, Newfoundland, Britain, Viking Age , Dublin, Ringed pins, and Irish Sea trading settlements
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Abstract
Revisiting the fragmentation revolution
Fragments are commonly encountered in the archaeological record. Historically, broken things have been considered scrap or rubbish resulting from accidental processes. However, during recent decades archaeologists have come to recognise acts of deliberate fragmentation, and fragments themselves, as performing a range of important roles in the past. A key moment...Knight, Matthew G ; Chittock, Helen
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Abstract
Exploring literal and conceptual fragmentation through medieval material culture
This paper will explore meaning-rich fragmentation in a medieval context and suggest that relevant theoretical frameworks may be enriched by thinking about different kinds of deconstruction. The breaking and remaking of Christian reliquaries provide one opportunity – viewing things like the Monymusk reliquary not as one object but as many...Blackwell, Alice
Monymusk reliquary , fragmentation, Christian reliquaries, Archaeology, and deconstruction
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Journal article
Twenty-first century sofa: conserving an eighteenth century object for modern museum display
This article describes the upholstery conservation treatment of a mid-eighteenth century sofa made for Spencer House, one of London's finest private houses. The sofa is now in the collection of National Museums Scotland. Details are given about the object's history, the approach taken to the complex treatment options, and the...McClean, Lynn ; Porter, Heather ; Jackson, Stephen
collaboration, conservation, sofa, Ethafoam™, upholstery, and digital
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Journal article
The prevalence of vestigial teeth in two beaked whale species from the North Atlantic
Beaked whales, Family Ziphiidae, occur in deep offshore and oceanic seas, where they are very difficult to study, so that much of our knowledge about them is derived from stranded animals. Most beaked whales (e.g., genera and ) have only one pair of mandibular teeth. A reduced dentition is widely...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Herman, Jeremy S ; Doeschate, Mariel ten ; Davison, Nicholas J ; Brownlow, Andrew …
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Website
Whit's in a name: Scottish connections to mineral names
In mineralogy, as in other natural sciences, there are strict rules on the naming of mineral species. The vast majority of minerals are named after a person or a place. Many of these names have strong Scottish connections, while others are a little less obvious. The naming of minerals. In...Davidson, Peter
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Presentation
Marine invertebrate collection
Next, the curator of the invertebrates at National Museums Scotland, Sankurie Pye, will talk about the fascinating diversity of specimens they have in their collections and why collecting these specimens is crucial for science and conservation. The National Museum Scotland are renowned worldwide for their collections, so get ready to...Pye, Sankuri
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Blog post
Objects in Place: the Eynhallow Sound, Orkney
Stone steps washed with waves and selkie songs glitter in the late summer gloaming. Roaring tides sweep in from all sides to batter the shore with ageless determination, steadily devouring the remnants of cairn-raisers, Picts, Norse, and crofters with equal indifference. The west wind catches a string of hanging seashells...Weinczok, David C
Orkney , Vikings, Objects In Place , Neolithic , Iron Age , and Archaeology
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Blog post
Inspiring Women: Helen Monro Turner
Helen Monro Turner (1901 – 1977) was a hugely influential Scottish glass engraver, designer, educator, and illustrator, as well as a highly respected role model for women pursuing careers as glass artists, designers, and makers. Her prominence in 20th century British glass made important inroads in a field which, until...Rothwell, Sarah
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Book chapter
The Matter of Slavery at National Museums Scotland
In the ‘Industry and Empire’ gallery of the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) in Edinburgh sits a gleaming cup of white porcelain, resting on its saucer. Text rendered in black lettering around the body of the cup reads: ‘and so it was that those long sea/journeys became yonder awa awa’....Laurenson, Sarah
Colonial Histories and Legacies, Slavery, Scotland, and Industry and Empire
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Video
Museum Role Call: Ian Brown
MUSEUM ROLE CALL! In our new monthly series, get to know people from across our museums, the spaces they work in and the objects they are inspired by. In our first episode, we surprised Ian Brown (Assistant Curator - Aviation) in the object stores. Join us as we follow him...National Museums Scotland
East Fortune , curation, object store, collection and interpretation of objects, National Museum of Flight, and Aviation
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Magazine article
'Alice Balfour' In: Herstory - women who changed the world
To mark Women's History Month, female curators at National Museums Scotland have each selected an inspiration woman represented in the collection. From entomologist to artist to queen, their legacy lives on.Whiffin, Ashleigh
Alice Blanche Balfour (1850-1936), Whittingehame, Entomology, and Women's History Month
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Magazine article
'Phoebe Anna Traquair' In: Herstory - women who changed the world
To mark Women's History Month, female curators at National Museums Scotland have each selected an inspiration woman represented in the collection. From entomologist to artist to queen, their legacy lives on.Blakey, Claire
Scottish Arts and Crafts movement, Women's History Month, and Phoebe Anna Traquair (1852-1936)
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Magazine article
'The 'Qurna Queen' In: Herstory - women who changed the world
To mark Women's History Month, female curators at National Museums Scotland have each selected an inspiration woman represented in the collection. From entomologist to artist to queen, their legacy lives on.Maitland, Margaret
Archaeology, Women's History Month, Nubia, gold jewellery, gilded coffin, Excavations in Egypt, and Qurna Queen
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Magazine article
'Mary, Queen of Scots' In: Herstory - women who changed the world
To mark Women's History Month, female curators at National Museums Scotland have each selected an inspiration woman represented in the collection. From entomologist to artist to queen, their legacy lives on.Groundwater, Anna
Women's History Month, The Mary, Queen of Scots Casket, tomb, Monarchy, and Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
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Magazine article
'Mrs Lovi's beads' In: Herstory - women who changed the world
To mark Women's History Month, female curators at National Museums Scotland have each selected an inspiration woman represented in the collection. From entomologist to artist to queen, their legacy lives on.Higgitt, Rebekah
Women's History Month, relative density of liquids, specific gravity, scientific instruments, Isabella Lovi, and aerometrical beads
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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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Blog post
“It’s good I’m Scottish!”: Scots and Scotland in the Doctor Who universe
The Scottish run of Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder feels, if you’ll excuse the pun, very timely. Only a few weeks prior to the launch of the exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, we witnessed the sensational return of David Tennant as The Doctor. Then came the news that...Smith, David
Scottish connections, Exhibition, and Doctor Who Worlds Of Wonder
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Journal article
A previously unrecorded 'British Victory' type for Septimius Severus
Most people with an interest in the history of the Roman period in Britain will be aware of the series of coins struck in the names of the emperor Septimius Severus and his sons, Caracalla and Geta, following military campaigns carried out against native tribes in present-day Scotland during the...Holmes, N M McQ.
coins, Rome mint, military campaigns in Scotland, and Septimius Severus
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Journal article
A site assemblage from Culross, Fife
Between 2016 and 2019 a total of 214 coins dating from the period between 1180 and 1322 were recovered by metal-detectorists from a field neat Culross.1Holmes, N M McQ.
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Journal article
Two newly discovered dies for pennies of Alexander II
The Scottish Short Cross and Stars coinage bearing the name of Alexander was the subject of a detailed paper in a recent edition of this Journal.1 All known obverse and reverse dies used for this coinage were listed and illustrated but, as is so often the case, two new dies...Holmes, N M McQ. ; Savage, Carl
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Journal article
Scottish Edwardian hoards, 2019
The following three hoards were submitted to the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit in 2019, but Covid restrictions led to severe delays in identification and analysisHolmes, N M McQ. ; Savage, Carl
numismatic hoards, metal-detecting, coins, Treasure Trove Unit, Roslin, Midlothian, Cockburnspath, Berwickhire, and Caverton, Morebattle, Scottish Borders
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Journal article
The Stoneykirk, Wigtonshire, hoard
An unusual hoard, spread over an area of approximately 20 m, was recovered by a group of three detectorists from a ploughed field at Stoneykirk, Wigtonshire, in 2019. The total number of coins was either 46 or 47, many of them in sacks fused together, comprising examples of almost every...Holmes, N M McQ.
James V, Scottish coinage, numismatic hoard, gold unicorn, Stoneykirk, Wigtownshire, and metal detecting
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Journal article
The Methven, Perthshire, hoard
A hoard of 68 coins, with the remains of a pottery vessel, was found during excavation work for a building extension in the back garden of a house in Methven.1 A date of deposition of 1663 or later is indicated by the presence of coin no.48 in the catalogue below.Holmes, N M Mcq.
coin hoard, Numismatics, and Medieval
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Lecture
The Art of Tapestry
On day 1 you will hear from experts in the field and find out more about the Burrell Collection tapestries and Medieval and Renaissance Tapestries in general. We will also document and discuss the artistic value, nature, and identity of 21st century tapestry as a distinctive Scottish art form with...Wyld, Helen
Renaissance , Medieval , and European Tapestries
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Presentation
People and Plants: an introduction
This workshop will be run in partnership with the Department of Cultures and Languages, Birkbeck, University of London and Museu Goeldi, Brazil. Discussions will be centred around the ecological value of ethnobotanical collections, including a focus on the interaction of western botanical nomenclature and traditional knowledge which forms the basis...Clark, Alison
research network, ethnographic artefacts, display, museum collections, ethnobotany, people and plants, and decolonization
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Presentation
Details on the Textiles in St John's Collection
Taking inspiration from the college's unique gallery of stunning medieval vestments, this conference will feature two day's worth of speakers and presenters. These presentations will be enriched by displays from both the college and Bodleian Library archives as well as a dynamic exhibition of works created during the conference workshops.Wyld, Helen ; Brooks, Mary
textiles, medieval, and church vestments
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Lecture
Revealing and Connecting African Collections in Scottish Museums
The project will establish a collaborative network to enable collection holders to engage with museums in Africa and the Caribbean and people of African and Caribbean descent in Scotland. These partnerships will explore provenance, colonial histories and legacies and the relevance of the collections to descendent and diaspora community interests...Giblin, John ; Grout, Nikki
African collections review, Scottish museums, and partnership project
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Journal article
Revision of the Llandovery (lower Silurian) trimerellide brachiopod Yidurella in South China
Although a minor group of brachiopods in the Ordovician and Silurian, the trimerellides include some of the largest known brachiopods in the Early Paleozoic. Yidurella Zeng, a monospecific genus of moderate size from the Shamao Formation of Tizikou, Yidu City, Hubei Province, was originally described as having a solid platform....Chen, Di ; Huang, Bing ; Candela, Yves
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Journal article
Supplement to the Burmese (Myanmar) amber checklist and bibliography, 2022
This is a supplement to the Burmese (Myanmar) amber checklist and bibliography covering taxa described or recorded during 2022, plus a couple of earlier records that were missed previously. Up to the end of 2022, 2,524 species have been recorded from Kachin amber, of which 350 were named in 2022;...Ross, Andrew J
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Journal article
Two new species of European Microgaster Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae), with host data on some further species
Two new European species of are described from reared material. parasitizes species (Depressariidae) on and in Britain, and a key is provided to separate it from two other British species that parasitize other , with host information. ., a parasitoid of (Noctuidae), is described from Austrian specimens. The host repertoires... -
Journal article
Notes on the three species of Cotesia Cameron, 1891 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Microgastrinae) parasitizing Gonepteryx [Leach, 1815] species (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in Europe, with description of a new species from the Balearic Islands
Shaw & Colom sp. nov. is described as a solitary endemic parasitoid of in the Balearic Islands. A key is given to the three known parasitoids of in Europe, and biological notes are given for each species. Some new country records are given.Shaw, Mark R ; Colom, Pau
GONEPTERYX, GONEPTERYX RHAMNI, COTESIA GONOPTERYGIS, FRANCE, PHENOLOGY, REARING RECORDS, COTESIA RISILIS, SWEDEN, SPAIN, CLEOPATRA, and COTESIA BALEARICA
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Interview (radio, television)
Moby the sperm whale interview
In Edinburgh, Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke remain on the coast for a cetacean celebration before saying goodbye to the wild badger sett they’ve been following all series.Kitchener, Andrew C
contemporary collecting, cetacean collections, skull, Physeter catodon (sperm whale), and whale stranding
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Interview (radio, television)
Value of urban green spaces for overwintering insects
Iolo Williams and Gillian Burke meet some urban mammals in Edinburgh, indulging in a look at some of the macro marvels that call the cemetery home.Whiffin, Ashleigh
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Interview (radio, television)
Research on urban and rural red foxes
In Edinburgh, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams head into a cemetery to see the wildlife that uses these city habitats as a haven.Cooper, David
archeological record , feeding animals, urban foxes, messaging, climate change, sustainability, and human/animal interaction
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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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Lecture
The Challenges of a Photography Curator
Geoff Belknap is Keeper of the Department of Science and Technology at National Museums Scotland. His talk will offer some ‘behind the scenes’ evidence of the challenges and considerations that have to be borne in mind when caring for a national collection. He has unparalleled experience of working with photography,...Belknap, Geoffrey
photography collections, National Museums Scotland, and conservation
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Opening up the Archive: An Approach to Volunteer-led Citizen Science in the Museum and Online
Through Communities and Crowds we aim to address two key challenges: how to open up the museum’s collection to citizen research; and how to make those objects that resonate most strongly with the everyday lives and experiences of our diverse communities easier to search for and discover.Belknap, Geoffrey ; Fitzpatrick, Alex
volunteers, discoverability, diverse communities, museum collections, and citizen research
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Journal article
Nostalgia in the prehistoric archaeological record
Evidence from the prehistoric archaeological record clearly shows that ancient societies had a sense of and engaged with their own histories, be it by reusing, re-appropriating or recreating past material culture. The affective qualities of materials, places and even human remains would have enabled people to remember and connect with...Knight, Matthew G
material culture, human remains, reuse, materials, prehistoric archaeological record, recreation, and re-appropriation
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Journal article
The organics revolution: new narratives and how we can achieve them
Organic remains from excavated sites include a wide range of materials, from distinct organisms (‘ecofacts’) to biomolecules. Biomolecules provide a variety of new research avenues, while ecofacts with longer histories of study are now being re-harnessed in unexpected ways. These resources are unlocking research potential, transcending what was previously imagined...Johnston, P ; Booth, T ; Carlin, N ; Cramp, L ; Edwards, B …
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Book chapter
Ancient DNA and modelling the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain and Ireland
The current paradigm-changing ancient DNA revolution is offering unparalleled insights into central problems within archaeology relating to the movement of populations and individuals, patterns of descent, relationships and aspects of identity – at many scales and of many different kinds. The impact of recent ancient DNA results can be seen...Sheridan, J A ; Whittle, Alasdair
Neolithic Studies Group, Britain, DNA, Ireland, and human migration
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Lecture
Sacrifice, scrap or something else? Practices of metalwork deposition in Late Bronze Age Britain and Ireland
Throughout the Bronze Age, large quantities of metal artefacts were deposited across Europe. Interpretations often centre around whether these deposits may have been sacrificial offerings to deities or else discarded scrap metal intended for recycling. These grand ideas mask the individual decisions local communities made when depositing their objects, such...Knight, Matthew
recycle, archaeology, Bronze Age Europe, metal depositpion, worship, and sacrificial objects
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Lecture
Viking Panic? Looking for the 9-12th centuries in Argyll
The story of early medieval Argyll is told through overarching narratives: the arrival of the Scots of Dál Riata; incoming missionaries in the age of saints; and the invasions of the Vikings. A recent reassessment of the National Museums Scotland collections from this period emphasises how material culture tells a... -
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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Lecture
The Traprain Treasure – latest research on a remarkable Roman silver hoard
The Roman Treasure from Traprain Law Excavated on Traprain Law in May 1919, this was one of the most spectacular discoveries of Roman silver ever made in Europe – and the biggest hoard found to date of ‘hacksilver’: 23kg, battered, crushed and chopped-up silver vessels. An international team of scholars...Hunter, Fraser
Late Roman Hoard, Traprain Law, East Lothian, hacksilver, elite tableware, and Silver Treasure
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Lecture
Highland Style: Fashioning Highland Dress, c.1745-1845
he period c.1745-1845 was a revolutionary chapter in the history of Highland dress. With the advent of the European Romantic movement, this once regional costume was revived and reinvented to reflect the changing times and preoccupations of its wearers. Associated with the warrior culture of Gaelic society, by the close...Waine, Rosie
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Lecture
Re-framing Mary: audience-focused collecting and display
During the life of the RSE project, and following the acquisition of the Mary Queen of Scots casket, National Museums Scotland re-framed the narrative it tells of Mary in the Chambers Street museum. This talk explores the museum’s role in mediating narratives of Mary’s life and impact, to argue that...Groundwater, Anna
casket, material culture, Mary, Queen of Scots, and museum collecting, interpretation and display
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Presentation
Scottish Weapons: crafting and collecting identity
Join our conversation on the issues of provenance, repatriation, collections, and collecting practices, explored through the lens of material culture. This roundtable brings together researchers to discuss these topics as they pertain to the theme of object biographies from the experience of their various professional backgroundsRobertson, Calum
arms and armour , Scottish Weapons, crafting and collecting identity, national collections, and National War Museum Scotland
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Lecture
Feasting with Latinus: the earliest Christians of Whithorn
The excavations led by the late Peter Hill at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway are widely understood as revealing one of the earliest monasteries in Britain. New analysis and dating evidence by the Cold Case Whithorn project is forcing a rethink of the earliest phases of the sequence. A poorly-understood late... -
Journal article
Evolutionary trends in trimerellid brachiopods
Non-articulated trimerellides, one minor group among the largest brachiopods, are commonly found in massive monospecific accumulations in Ordovician and Silurian rocks. In this paper, all species of the family Trimerellidae are listed for the first time, and some of them are discussed. They appeared in the Sandbian and became extinct...Chen, Di ; Huang, Bing ; Candela, Yves
Morphospace, Trimerellids, Platform, Vault, and Cladistics
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Journal article
Framing colonial war loot: The ‘captured’ spolia opima of Kunwar Singh
This article investigates the provenance of four artefacts associated with the military commander Kunwar Singh (1777–1858), who fought a guerrilla campaign against the British during the Indian Uprising of 1857–8. By analysing how these objects were documented and inscribed, it can be shown that, through the invocation of what is... -
Lecture
Displaying ‘National’ Antiquities in the mid-19th century: Scotland, England and Ireland
This lecture will compare the mid-19th century classification and display strategies of the museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland with the British Museum and the museum of the Royal Irish Academy. Museum displays ‘perform’ meaning through labels, catalogues and physical arrangements. A comparison of such displays reveals the...Holder, Julie
classification and display strategies, Ireland, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, England, 19th century, British Museum, Royal Irish Academy, and Scotland
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Journal article
Newly-discovered pilgrim souvenirs fit for a saintly queen
Lydia Prosser and Robert Webley take a look at the implications of the exciting discovery of a pair of medieval Scottish pilgrim badges. How did these items find their way to Cambridgeshire and what can this tell us about the use of such badges in the Middle Ages?Prosser, Lydia ; Webley, Robert
cult, metal detecting, Medieval Scotland, Fordham, Cambridgeshire, pilgrim badges, Portable Antiquities Scheme, and Saint Margaret of Scotland
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Journal article
Two medieval pilgrim badges attributed to St Margaret, Queen of Scotland
Two late medieval lead-alloy badges found in Cambridgeshire, England, are argued here to belong to the cult of Saint Margaret of Scotland (r 1070–93). As such, they represent the first pilgrim souvenirs to be linked to this important Scottish saint, whose cultic centre was at Dunfermline, Fife, and for whom...Prosser, Lydia ; Webley, Robert
stray finds, saints’ cults , pilgrimage , Dunfermline, medieval , and pilgrim badge
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Blog post
Winnie Drinkwater: the pioneering Scottish woman aviator
Scotswoman Winnie Drinkwater was not only the world’s first woman airline pilot but was also Scotland’s first woman to be a licensed aircraft engineer. Her achievements in the fledging aviation industry are even more remarkable since she made important inroads in a field with very few women. On the 100th...Brown, Ian
Aviation , Aviation History , and Civil Aviation
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Video
Museum Role Call: Rachel Drury
MUSEUM ROLE CALL! In our second episode, we surprised Rachel in the Learning Centre. Join us as we follow her around asking a bunch of random and not-so-random questions.National Museums Scotland
workshops, handling collections, sessions, museum audiences, learning enabler, learning studios, and engagement
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Book review
Findlater, The Armorial of Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount with a photographic facsimile
In a SHR review of 2008, heraldry in Scotland was said to be in the midst of a revival, with interest greater than at any time since the resurgence in the 1970s that had witnessed the founding of the Heraldry Society of Scotland.1 The present volume is produced by that...Blackwell, Alice
Medieval Scotland, heraldry, charters, and seals
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Lecture
'The Viking-age Reuse of Insular Metalwork From Northern Britain'
The looting of Christian shrines and reliquaries in the Viking Age is so well-documented that it has been reduced to a cartoonish vision of pillaging heathens. A close look at the evidence for such ‘looting’ tells a different story – or rather a number of different stories. A recent reassessment... -
Exhibition-related event
Burying valuables and valuable burials: The Adabrock Hoard, the Aird Dell Swords and other Bronze Age metalwork from western Scotland
Comunn Eachdraidh Nis (CEN) is pleased to announce the launch of a special exhibition on the 18th April 2023. Following a year of planning between CEN and The National Museum of Scotland, locally discovered Bronze Age finds will be returning to Ness. In 1910, an eclectic hoard of objects was...Knight, Matthew G
exhibition, loans programme, Ness, Aird Dell Swords, Bronze Age finds, and Adabrock Hoard
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Journal article
QR codes can enrich a visit to a museum
Some museums want to ban them, while others see them as a low-cost way to connect visitors with contentCoulson, Adam
museums, QR code readers, quick response codes, exhibitions, and digital access
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Blog post
Doctor Zoo: the real-world taxonomy behind Doctor Who's monsters and aliens
Mark Gatiss, in his narration for the Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder exhibition, astutely observes that the show is rooted in science. This is evident in its portrayal of alien life, including both monstrous creatures and humanoid allies. Dr. Vladimir Blagoderov, Principal Curator of Invertebrates, explores the expansive legendarium of...Blagoderov, Vladimir
Natural Sciences, Doctor Who Worlds Of Wonder , Invertebrate Biology , and Biology
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Journal article
A new long‐necked archosauromorph from the Guanling Formation (Anisian, Middle Triassic) of southwestern China and its implications for neck evolution in tanystropheids
A long neck is an evolutionary innovation convergently appearing in multiple tetrapod lineages, including groups of plesiosaurs, non-archosauriform archosauromorphs, turtles, sauropodomorphs, birds, and mammals. Among all tetrapods both extant and extinct, two Triassic archosauromorphs, Tanystropheus and Dinocephalosaurus, have necks that are particularly elongated relative to the lengths of their trunks....Wang, Wei ; Spiekman, Stephan N F ; Zhao, Lijun ; Rieppel, Olivier ; Scheyer, Torsten M …
Triassic archosauromorphs, Dinocephalosaurus, tetrapods, evolution, and Tanystropheus
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Presentation
Exploring entwined histories through Chinese material culture in Scottish museums
The East Asia Collections in Scottish Museums review by National Museums Scotland has highlighted the impressive presence of Chinese material culture in Scotland. Largely accumulated from the late nineteenth century onwards, they partly reflect the rapid British imperialist expansion into China at the time, as well as the many other...Fraser, Tullia
deed, missionaries , East Asia Collections, Qing-dynasty China, Chinese material culture, University of Aberdeen museum collections, and colonial histories
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Presentation
Respect! Caribbean life in Edinburgh – How a community project has changed our museum practice
In 2021 and 2022 Museums & Galleries Edinburgh worked with Edinburgh Caribbean Association (ECA) to develop the exhibition Respect! Caribbean Life in Edinburgh. ECA used the collections of the Museum of Childhood to explore Caribbean culture and childhoods, living in Scotland and Caribbean contributions to British society. The project was...Stevens, Lynn
Museology, Exchange, Caribbean diaspora heritage communities, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, Colonial Histories And Legacies, and Edinburgh Caribbean Association
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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. -
Video
Museum Role Call: Calum Robertson
In our third episode of Museum Role Call, we surprised Calum in the National War Museum. Join us as we follow him around asking a bunch of random and not-so-random questions.National Museums Scotland
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Blog post
The Majestic and the Mundane the material culture of coronations
With the approaching coronation of King Charles III, Georgia Vullinghs, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary History, has been looking at our collections of coronation material. From batons of ceremony and containers for holy oils, to souvenir cups, handkerchiefs, and biscuit tins, this range of material performs an important function...Vullinghs, Georgia
Coronation, Royal History , Scottish History, Politics, and Collections