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Search Results
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Journal article
The Cold War in European museums – filling the ‘empty battlefield’
Recent historical research has analysed the Cold War as an ‘imaginary war’, an interpretation that poses specific challenges for displaying the conflict in museums. In contrast to well-established representations of the First and Second World Wars in exhibitions, we find that the nature of the Cold War in Europe and...Alberti, Samuel J M M ; Nehring, Holger
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Book chapter
'Later prehistoric finds' In: Ewart, Gordon and Gallagher, Dennis, With thy towers high: The archaeology of Stirling Castle and Palace
Two characteristically pre-medieval small finds were found in the same post-medieval deposit, a dark-brown silty clay deposit at the noprth end of the Ladies' Lookout (VVI/F21176).Hunter, Fraser
Scotland, prehistoric pottery, post-medieval small finds, Stirling Castle, shale bangle, and excavations
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Book chapter
'Coins and jetons' In: Ewart, Gordon and Gallagher, Dennis, With thy towers high: The archaeology of Stirling Castle and Palace
The combined assemblage of numismatic finds totalled 30 items, comprising six medieval silver coins, ten base metal coins dating from the period from the late 15th to the late 17th century, three jetons (reckoning counters) and eleven modern coins (18th to 20th century), which are recorded only in the excavation...Homes, Nicholas
coins, excavations, jetons, Stirling Castle, assemblage, and numismatic finds
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Journal article
Exhibition Review: Tales in Gaelic (Temporary exhibition - Sgeul/Story: Folk Tales from the Scottish Highlands, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh)
Bruce Blacklaw finds folklore and beauty in this celebration of the Gaelic languageBlacklaw, Bruce
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Journal article
The mitochondrial DNA diversity of captive ruffed lemurs (Varecia spp.): implications for conservation
Ruffed lemurs ( and ) are categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and genetic studies are needed for assessing the conservation value of captive populations. Using 280 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences, we studied the genetic diversity and structure of captive ruffed lemurs in Madagascar, Europe and...Vega, Rodrigo ; Hopper, Jane ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Catinaud, Jérôme ; Roullet, Delphine …
Biodiversity, diversity, Lemuridae, genetic, primates, conservation, and Madagascar
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Presentation
Did the Vikings exist?
We can all picture a Viking. But the Vikings that archaeologists dig up look rather different. Those Vikings adopted fashions from wherever they settled, and even changed religions when needed. They traded and married as much as they raided and harried. Their ships carried men, women, children and even pets....Maldonado, Adrián
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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
death rituals, Viking Age in Britain and Ireland, burials, ringed pins, Hiberno-Norse, and cloak fasteners
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Journal article
Rethinking the Dark Age: the multiple voices of early medieval Britain
What do you picture when you think of the Dark Age. The common perception the phrase conjures is simple living and hardship. However, the sheer number of inscribed objects from this period paint another picture. Through new research methods, we are uncovering the multiple voices of early medieval Britain and...Maldonado, Adrián
literacy, Archaeology, Vikings, Symbols, Research Project, St Ninian's Isle Treasure, Glenmorangie, and Picts
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Lecture
Beyond Picts and Vikings: Northern mainland Scotland 800-1100
Adrian Maldonado speaking about the artefacts and carved stones from the end of the Pictish period and Viking Age in the northern mainland. This is a re-recording of a talk given person at Strathpeffer on 28th October 2023 for NOSAS's 25th anniversary celebrations.Maldonado, Adrián
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Book
Crucible of nations: Scotland from Viking Age to Medieval Kingdom
This third book from The Glenmorangie Company Research Project, following Early Medieval Scotland and Scotland’s Early Silver, will also appeal to readers of The Galloway Hoard. It takes a new look at National Museums Scotland collections covering the period 800-1200: the fall of the Pictish kingdoms and rise of the...Maldonado, Adrián
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Poster (unpublished)
National Museums Scotland’s 17th-century warship assemblages
Paul, Ella
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Journal article
Revealing observatory networks through object stories: Introduction
This paper introduces a group of three articles that bring together object stories relating to observatory history and networks. The three articles (‘Instrumental networks’, ‘Object itineraries’ and ‘Observatory audiences’) each bring together three object stories by different authors that contribute to the article theme. Here the genesis of the collection...Higgitt, Rebekah
object stories, observatory sites, astronomy, networks, collections, object biography, scientific instruments, object itineraries, Time, observatory sciences, and observatories
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Journal article
Revealing observatory networks through object stories: Observatory audiences
Like the contributions to the other papers in this collection (‘Object itineraries’ and ‘Instrumental networks’), those in this final section explore instrumental networks and object itineraries in order to tell new histories of observatory sites and their associated networks. (For a discussion of the genesis and thinking behind the collection... -
Conference paper (unpublished)
Geology to Jewellery: sourcing and crafting Scottish metals and gems in the nineteenth century
From the late eighteenth century, jewellers in Scotland used precious metals and colourful stone to craft little luxuries that were bought, gifted and worn by men, women and children. This talk will explore how jewellers and lapidaries responded and contributed to developing knowledge about geology and mineralogy through the things...Laurenson, Sarah
material culture, geology , lapidaries, 18th century , agates, Cairngorm mountains, mineralogy, Scotland, jewellery, and quartz
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Abstract
Fragmented metalwork hoards as a selective practice in Late Bronze Age north-western Europe
Hoards of fragmented metalwork are often seen as one of the defining practices of Late Bronze Age communities in Europe. Such hoards have attracted much attention with debates around how and why metalwork was broken and buried. Were hoards abandoned scrap? Or was there a ritual aspect? Although it is...Knight, Matthew G
Europe, communities , Hoards, Late Bronze Age , and fragmented metalwork
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Characterising the late medieval brooch in Scotland: What, Where, When and Why?
Prosser , Lydia
Medieval Scottish , ornament, dress, and late medieval brooch
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Sealing Royal Stewart Power
Groundwater, Anna
Seals, sealing , Renaissance Scotland, House of Stuart, material culture, and Monarchy
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Sealing Practices in 16-17c Scotland
Paul, Ella
Renaissance Scotland, sealing practices, matrices, and Seals
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Sealing practices in medieval Scotland
Blackwell, Alice
Seals, medieval , sealing practices, Scotland, and recent research
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Lecture
Public History Roundtable contribution
The Renaissance and Early Modern Research Alliance (REMRA) promotes co-operation and cross-disciplinary research across the various centres and institutes of the University of the Highlands and Islands. The group is convened by Dr Kathrin Zickermann (UHI Centre for History) and consists of c.20 members of staff (including visiting professors and...Groundwater, Anna
Renaissance and Early Modern , Research Alliance, collaboration, and material culture
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Lecture
Materialising the Scottish Renaissance at National Museums Scotland
Dr Groundwater will talk about the material objects relating to the Renaissance.Groundwater, Anna
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Journal article
Palaeogenomic Evidence for the Long-Term Reproductive Isolation Between Wild and Domestic Cats
Domestic cats were derived from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis lybica), after which they dispersed with people into Europe. As they did so, it is possible that they interbred with the indigenous population of European wildcats (Felis silvestris). Gene flow between incoming domestic animals and closely related indigenous wild species...Jamieson, Alexandra ; Carmagnini, Alberto ; Howard-McCombe, Jo ; Doherty, Sean ; Hirons, Alexandra …
domestication, palaeogenomics, and cats
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Hunter, Fraser
armour, arm guard , bronze, Roman Scotland, amellar , and Newstead
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Lecture
XRF Analysis, Alva cobalt, West Pans and Longton Hall Porcelain
Research conducted in 1993 by Middleton & Cowell at the British Museum suggests that cobalt used to decorate porcelain from William Littler’s venture at Longton Hall (1749-60) was chemically distinct from that used by him while at West Pans (1764-77). They considered that at least some West Pans cobalt was...Haggarty, George R ; Jones , Richard
Longton Hall , XRF analysis, Scottish ceramic collections, cobalt porcelain decoration, William Littler, West Pans, and Alva silver mines
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Book chapter
Building a dual dataset of text- and image-grounded conversations and summarisation in Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic)
Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic; gd) is spoken by about 57k people in Scotland,1 but remains an under-resourced language with respect to natural language processing in general and natural language generation (NLG) in particular. To address this gap, we developed the first datasets for Scottish Gaelic NLG, collecting both conversational and summarisation... -
Journal article
'Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age metalwork' In: Jones, A.M. and Quinnell, H. Revisiting Battlegore: a Bronze Age barrow and its landscape context
Six copper-alloy artefacts were found in the 1860s during draining works on land to the west of the barrow cemetery, one specifically from a plot named Lake’s Meadow. Gray (1908a; 1931) documents their finding and provides illustrations. They are all described and illustrated by Pearce (1983, 540, pl. 94) and...Knight, Matthew G
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Journal article
Not so hidden messages
The written word is a powerful and persuasive tool that can inspire and revolt in equal measure. Equally, jewellery has the power to spread messages and has been used for generations to declare an individual’s position of allegiance or defiance. By incorporating a message, slogan or symbol, a jewel becomes...Rothwell, Sarah
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Abstract
Tools of Knowledge: tracking scientific instruments and their makers over time and space
In the work of tracking instruments in physical collections and textual sources, and through time and space, digital tools are becoming increasingly important. This paper will present some of the outcomes of the Tools of Knowledge project, funded by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council. The major part of...Higgitt, Rebekah ; Middle, Sarah ; Butterworth, Alex ; Hay, Duncan
data, scientific instruments, accessibility, linked open data repositories , semantic database , and Digital Humanities
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Poster (unpublished)
Hazards in the Science Collections
Phillipson, Tacye
hazards, museum , science collections, and hazardous material
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Abstract
How to collect a crisis: Displaying and collecting COVID-19
COVID-19 is not the first, nor will it be the last, global pandemic or health crisis. The Influenza pandemic of 1918 killed an estimate 50 million people worldwide and had far reaching impact and consequences. However, in the National Museums Scotland collection, made up of 12 million objects, only two...Goggins, Sophie
personal stories, scientific and medical objects , global pandemic , COVID-19, museum collections, and material culture
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Scottish Aviation Museums Group
Brown, Ian
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Abstract
Identifying community requirements for Linked Humanities Data infrastructures
It is likely that the application of LOD approaches to the Humanities will result in large, rich, heterogeneous datasets with huge research potential, but in turn raise a considerable challenge: how can these datasets be managed and published in forms that are flexible, scalable, interoperable and, critically, usable and sustainable?...Middle, Sarah ; Hay, Duncan ; Butterworth, Alex
research project, Pelagios community, data, and Digital Humanities
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Abstract
From There to Posterity: Modelling Diverse Itineraries of Scientific Instruments
It is reasonable to claim that there are few types of historical artefact more complex or consequent than the scientific instruments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In them are encoded generations of craft knowledge, while individually and in combination they enabled new vistas of knowledge production, real and figurative,...Middle, Sarah ; Butterworth, Alex ; Higgitt, Rebekah
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Presentation
Tools of Knowledge: Modelling the Scientific Instrument Trade, 1550–1914, January 2021 - December 2023 & How Did We Get Here? Transitioning the Communities & Crowds Project to Zooniverse (Digital Intersections Around Science Collections – online conference sessions)
The first part, drawing on the Tools of Knowledge project, will explore how digital methods and tools can capture, model and visualise the ‘lives’, or itineraries, of scientific instruments. It will introduce Voyages in Time, a volunteer transcription project on Zooniverse.org created with Royal Museums Greenwich, which provides data on... -
Book chapter
Towards an Ontology of Pre-20th Century Scientific Instrument Types
This paper introduces the project Tools of Knowledge: Modelling the Scientific Instrument Trade, 1550–1914, and focuses on our ongoing development of an ontology to represent knowledge about scientific instrument types produced during this period. After a brief introduction, we discuss the background to the project and a summary of previous...Middle, Sarah ; Butterworth, Alex
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Lecture
Buying Power: British Archaeology and the Antiquities Market in Egypt and Sudan 1880–1939
Where did the ancient Egyptian collections in National Museums Scotland come from? How did they get here? Join Dr Dan Potter to discover the untold stories behind these enduringly popular collections. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries museums and individuals competed to collect the ‘best’ ancient Egyptian objects.... -
Conference paper (unpublished)
Buying Power: British Archaeology and the Antiquities Market 1880 – 1939
This project is the first to focus on how archaeologists involved in British-led excavations in Egypt and Sudan were entangled with the antiquities market and how this impacts what we see today in museums across the world. It will examine how and why archaeologists bought and sold objects, how they...Potter, Daniel M
colonial collecting practices, Archaeologists , Egypt and Sudan, British-led excavations, antiques market, and colonial histories and legacies
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Journal article
Dr Allen David Cumming Simpson, 13 December 1947-3 December 2022
Allen Simpson was born in Edinburgh, went to school there, attended the University of Edinburgh, worked there, married and raised a family, and finally died there. He worked at what eventually became National Museums Scotland between 1970 to 1998, as an Assistant Keeper, and subsequently, Curator and Principal Curator in...Morrison-Low, Alison
curatorial research, Scottish weights and measures, Science & Technology, obituary, National Museums Scotland, Department of Technology, and Royal Museum of Scotland
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Journal article
The Scottish transport and industry collections knowledge network (STICK)
The Scottish Transport and Industry Collections Knowledge Network (STICK) brings together a range of organisations and individuals who share a common interest in transport and industrial collections and promoting their care and enjoyment. While a multi-disciplinary steering group drives it forward, STICK is its members and their passion and knowledge....Swinbank, Ellie ; National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF, United Kingdom
Industry, Transport, Training, Network, and Collections
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Poster (unpublished)
The Fezouata brachiopod fauna: an Early Ordovician diversification at high latitudes
Brachiopods are a neglected part of the Fezouata fauna. Brachiopods occur in two distinct horizons: firstly in the lower part of the Fezouata Shale (upper Tremadocian); secondly in the upper part of the Fezouata Shale (lower Floian). The fauna is dominated by a mixture of lingulides, siphonotretides and orthides. The...Candela, Yves ; Harper, David T ; Mergl, Michal
Ordovician outcrops , Fezouata fauna, Brachiopods, and Morocco
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Abstract
Piecing together Baltic amber fungus gnats: a comprehensive review and material assessment
Fungus gnats (Diptera, Sciaroidea) represent the largest group in the fossil record and are among the most diverse groups of living flies. The Mycetophilidae family alone comprises approximately 400 described fossil species (surpassed only by Limoniidae) in 126 genera. The majority of these species were described from Baltic amber by...Blagoderov, Vladimir ; Evenhuis, Neal L
Baltic amber, Eocene, fungus gnats, and Sciaroidea
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Abstract
Brachiopods from the Ordovician of southern Belgium (Avalonia): the end of a terra incognita
Contrary to the well-exposed Devonian–Carboniferous rock sequence, the thick siliciclastic Cambrian–Silurian succession of Belgium is poor in macrofossils and, more especially, in brachiopods. These rocks mostly crop out in the Brabant and the Stavelot–Venn massifs, and in the Condroz Inlier. Occurrences of Ordovician brachiopods have been reported since the second...Mottequin, Bernard ; Candela, Yves
Avalonia, brachiopods, Belgium, and Ordovician
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Journal article
Early Eocene fossils elucidate the evolutionary history of the Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies)
We report charadriiform and charadriiform-like birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). A partial skeleton of a small modern-type charadriiform is described as a new species, n. gen. n. sp., and most closely resembles taxa of the Charadrii (plovers, stilts, oystercatchers, and other “wader-like” shorebirds). Affinities...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
charadriiform bird, Walton-on-the-Naze, fossil record, early Paleogene , and Eocene London Clay