: Amgueddfeydd, Arddangosfeydd a Digwyddiadau
Thomas H Thomas and his dinosaur
, 18 Mai 2017
The first dinosaur footprints found anywhere in Europe
One sunny evening in September 1878, Welsh artist and naturalist Thomas Henry Thomas was wandering around the small village of Nottage, just outside Porthcawl. The rays of the setting sun were shining across a large slab of rock placed on the edge of the churchyard. The local villagers told him that the five strange markings on the rock were the footprints of the devil as he strode across the slab. The rock had lain between the church and the village pub for years, and was a local curiosity.
Thomas was a well-educated man, born in Pontypool in 1839, and had studied Art at the Royal Academy, before returning to Wales. He was a key member of the Cardiff Naturalists Society, and a well-respected artist as well. On discovering the footprints, illuminated by the setting sun in the churchyard, he was struck by the similarity between these markings and newly found dinosaur footprints in North America. He quickly sketched the prints and informed various local geologists. John Storrie, curator of the Cardiff Museum, visited the site and made a cast of the trackway.
The President of the Cardiff Naturalists Society was Colonel Turbervill, who arranged for the rock to be brought to the Cardiff Museum for safe-keeping.
Thomas H. Thomas wrote a short paper, in January 1879, describing the footprints and also his attempts at Bristol Zoo, to persuade a suspicious Emu to walk across modelling clay, for comparison! He described the footprints as "Tridactyl Uniserial Ichnolites", but left it to Professor W Sollas of Bristol University to publish a formal description, with the name Brontozoum thomasi. We now know that these footprints were made 220 million years ago by a medium-sized meat-eating dinosaur, similar to Megalosaurus which evolved later.
The original footprint slab was around 6' 6" long and 5' 6" wide, and about 6 inches thick, although excess rock was later removed to make it easier to handle and display. When the collections of the old Cardiff Museum were transferred to the new National Museum of Wales in 1907, the footprints were one of its most important acquisitions. Currently the fossil is on display in the
Evolution of Wales gallery, as befitting the first dinosaur footprints found anywhere in Europe.
Wales has an important place in the evolutionary history of dinosaurs; not only this early set of footprints, but also another major trackway site near the town of Barry, which is one of the most significant sites of its age in Europe. The rocks of this area were laid down around 220 million years ago, at a time when Wales was a low-lying desert, similar to those in the Arabian Gulf today, and dinosaurs had just evolved. Over the next 20 million years, the sea-level rose and the deserts disappeared underwater. However the dinosaurs living on higher ground continued to diversify into different species, one of which was Dracoraptor, the small theropod dinosaur found near to Penarth in 2014, and now on display at the National Museum Cardiff.
Ffotograffydd Magnum, David Hurn, yn rhoi ei gasgliadau ffotograffiaeth i Amgueddfa Cymru
, 17 Mai 2017
Dyn wedi ymddeol, Dawns Perchnogion Car MG, 1967.
D.U. ALBAN, Caeredin.
© David Hurn/MAGNUM PHOTOS
Mae Amgueddfa Cymru wedi derbyn rhodd anhygoel gan y ffotograffydd Magnum, David Hurn. Mae Hurn yn un o ffotograffwyr dogfennol mwyaf dylanwadol Prydain. Ac yntau bellach yn byw ac yn gweithio yma yng Nghymru, mae wedi dychwelyd at ei wreiddiau Cymreig – ac yma y bydd ei gasgliad o ffotograffau’n aros diolch i’w rodd hael.
Mae’r casgliad yn rhannu’n ddwy ran, sef tua 1,500 o’i ffotograffau ef ei hun sy’n cwmpasu ei yrfa o dros drigain mlynedd fel ffotograffydd dogfennol; a thua 700 o ffotograffau gan ffotograffwyr eraill o’i gasgliad preifat. Wrth sôn am ei rodd, dywedodd Hurn:
“Fy atgofion gweledol/diwylliannol cynharaf yw ymweld â’r Amgueddfa pan oeddwn i’n bedair neu’n bump oed. Dwi’n cofio’r cerflun drwg – y Gusan gan Rodin – a chasys yn llawn stwff oedd pobl wedi ei roi. Wel, bellach mae gen i gyfle i dalu rhywbeth yn ôl – bydd rhywbeth gen i yno am byth. Mae’n fraint o’r mwyaf.”
Detholiad Diffiniol o Waith Oes
Dros y ddwy flynedd ddiwethaf, mae David wedi bod yn dewis ffotograffau o’i archif ef ei hun sy’n ddetholiad o waith ei oes. Mae’r casgliad o tua 1,500 o brintiau newydd yn cynnwys gwaith a wnaed yng Nghymru, Lloegr, yr Alban, Iwerddon, Arizona, Califfornia ac Efrog Newydd.
Mae’n cynnwys rhai o’i ffotograffau enwocaf, fel Dawns y Frenhines Charlotte, Barbarella a Grosvenor Square.
Fodd bynnag, ei ffotograffau craff a gofalus o Gymru yw prif ffocws y casgliad. Yn dilyn rhodd hael David, Amgueddfa Cymru yw ceidwad y casgliad mwyaf o’i luniau yn y byd.
D.U. CYMRU. Dinbych y Pysgod. Y promenâd yn nhref glan y môr Dinbych y Pysgod, De Cymru. 1974
© David Hurn/MAGNUM PHOTOS
Casgliad Cyfnewid
Drwy gydol ei yrfa hir, mae Hurn wedi bod yn cyfnewid llun am lun â’i gyd-ffotograffwyr, llawer ohonynt yn gydweithwyr iddo yng nghwmni Magnum.
Mae’r casgliad pwysig ac amrywiol hwn o tua 700 ffotograff, sydd hefyd yn dod i law’r Amgueddfa, yn cynnwys gweithiau gan ffotograffwyr blaenllaw’r 20fed a’r 21ain ganrif.
Yn eu mysg mae Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold, Sergio Larrain, Bill Brandt, Martine Franck, Bruce Davidson a Martin Parr, Bieke Depoorter, Clementine Schneidermann a Diana Markosian. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold, Sergio Larrain, Bill Brandt, Martine Franck, Bruce Davidson a Martin Parr, a ffotograffwyr sy’n dod yn amlycach megis Bieke Depoorter, Clementine Schneidermann a Diana Markosian.
Bydd detholiad o ffotograffau o gasgliad preifat David yn cael eu harddangos am y tro cyntaf yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd o 30 Medi 2017 ymlaen. Bydd Llun am Lun: Ffotograffau o Gasgliad David Hurn yn lansio oriel ffotograffiaeth newydd yr Amgueddfa.
Casgliadau Ffotograffig yn Amgueddfa Cymru
Mae casgliadau ffotograffau Amgueddfa Cymru’n unigryw am eu bod yn cwmpasu cynifer o feysydd a phynciau, gan gynnwys celf, hanes cymdeithasol a diwydiannol a’r gwyddorau naturiol.
Mae hefyd yn cynnwys ffotograffau pwysig iawn, fel rhai o’r ffotograffau cynharaf i gael eu tynnu yng Nghymru gan y ffotograffydd arloesol John Dillwyn Llewelyn a’i deulu. Bydd rhodd David yn gweddnewid casgliadau ffotograffiaeth yr Amgueddfa ac yn creu cyfleoedd cyffrous i ehangu’r casgliadau mewn ffyrdd newydd.
UDA. Arizona. Sun City.
Grwp ffitrwydd y tu allan ben bore yng nghymuned ymddeol Sun City. Ras can metr 50 eiliad i bobl rhwng 60 a 94 mlwydd oed yn y Senior Olympics. Roedd teimlad o hwyl a chymdeithas i'w deimlo'n gryf yno. 1980.
© David Hurn/MAGNUM PHOTOS
Bydd yr arddangosfa yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd yn dilyn cyflwyniad o waith David Hurn yn Photo London, y digwyddiad ffotograffiaeth rhyngwladol a gynhelir bob blwyddyn yn Somerset House, Llundain. Wedi’i churadu gan Martin Parr a David Hurn, mae arddangosfa Photo London, David Hurn’s Swaps, yn dathlu pen-blwydd Magnum Photos yn 70 oed.
Voices from the Archives: Lambing in Pembrokeshire, 1984
, 17 Mawrth 2017
The Voices from the Archives series is based on recordings in the Oral History Archive at St Fagans National History Museum. Connected to the agricultural activities, demonstrations and displays at the Museum - they provide an insight into the lives and histories of farming people, the agricultural practices in the past, how they developed into contemporary agriculture.
Lambing in Pembrokeshire, 1984
March is lambing time at Llwyn-yr-eos Farm, the Museum’s working farm. Lambing in the past and present was described by Richard James, Portfield Gate, Pembrokeshire, south west Wales, in a recording made in 1984. Aged 79, he recalled lambing in an interview about his life in farming, but also described how it was being done on a farm in the area in the year of the interview. The following short clips are from the recording.
Pembrokeshire born and bred, Richard James had farmed at Lambston Sutton in the south west of the county. It stood between the large county town of Haverfordwest a few miles to the east, and the coastline of St Bride’s Bay to the west. The lowland coastal areas, warmer climate and lower rainfall made agriculture more diverse than in many other parts of Wales, with the keeping cattle and sheep and the growing of early potatoes and cereal crops. The coastal areas could be exposed to the winds and rain from the Atlantic Ocean though, and weather conditions could strongly influence lambing, to which Richard James refers in the first clip:
Richard James, Portfield Gate, Sir Benfro
When lambing was to take place was decided by when the ewes were put to the rams. Up until then the rams on the farm had to be kept separate from the sheep. It was always a concern that rams might break through a poor fence or hedge and cause lambing to start at the wrong time. Also, a ram of poorer quality or a different breed from another flock could also result in poorer quality lambs and reduced income. After mating, a ewe is pregnant for between 142 and 152 days, approximately five months or slightly shorter.
In this clip, Richard James describes at what time of year lambing took place on a local farm, and how it was being done by a farmer using a former aircraft hangar.
Richard James, Portfield Gate, Sir Benfro
The final clip is about working the day and night shifts:
Richard James, Portfield Gate, Sir Benfro
Digideiddio'r Stiwt
, 10 Mawrth 2017
Ym Medi 2017 bydd Institiwt y Gweithwyr Oakdale yn dathlu ei gan-mlwyddiant. Wedi ei adeiladu yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf, mi roedd unwaith yn ganolbwynt gymdeithasol bwysig i drigolion pentref Oakdale. Symudwyd yr adeilad i’r Amgueddfa yn 1989 ac i nodi penblwydd yr adeilad eleni, mae’r Amgueddfa wedi lawnsio prosiect #Oakdale100. Bwriad y prosiect yw ail-ddehongli’r adeilad a’i ddod yn fyw unwaith eto gyda lleisiau’r gymuned.
Fel rhan o’r gwaith paratoi, mae staff yr Amgueddfa wedi ail-ymweld ag archifau’r adeilad, gan dynnu ynghyd ffotograffau, cyfweliadau hanes llafar a gwrthrychau perthnasol. Dwi wedi bod yn edrych ar y casgliad ffotograffau yn benodol. Gyda chymorth yr Adran Ffotograffiaeth, rydym wedi digideiddio cannoedd o ddelweddau a oedd gynt ar gael ar ffurf negatifau yn unig. Mae’r ffotograffau hyn yn dangos ystod y digwyddiadau ar gweithgareddau a oedd yn cael eu cynnal yn y Stiwt – o ymweliad y Tywysog Albert yn 1920 i berfformiadau dramatig y 50au. Maen nhw hefyd yn dogfennu pensaerniaeth yr adaeilad a manylion yr ystafelloedd mewnol. Fy hoff lun i yw hwnnw o’r bachgen yn ei arddegau yn pori silffoedd y llyfrgell.
Yn ogystal â digideiddio’r deunydd sydd eisoes yng nghasgliad yr Amgueddfa, rydym hefyd wedi bod yn brysur yn ymgysylltu gyda’r gymuned yn Oakdale heddiw. Llynedd cynhaliwyd gweithdy galw-heibio yn y pentref i annog trigolion yr ardal i rannu storiau ac i sganio eu ffotograffau ar gyfer archif yr Amgueddfa a Casgliad y Werin.
Yn ddiweddar, rydym hefyd wedi agor tudalen Facebook ar gyfer y prosiect ac mae’r ymateb wedi bod yn anghygoel! Mae llu o bobl wedi cyfrannu eu hatgofion, gadael sylwadau a rhannu delweddau ar y dudalen. Yn ddi-os, mae Facebook yn adnodd gwych i ail-gysylltu gyda’r gymuned.
Os oes gennych unrhyw storiau neu ffotograffau sy’n gysylltiedig â Stiwt Oakdale, cysylltwch â ni. Byddem wrth ein boddau i weld unrhyw ffotograffau o bartion neu gigs yn y Stiwt yn ystod y 1960au-80au.
cofnodion diweddar
Gweithdai Rhithwir Bylbiau'r Gwanwyn i Ysgolion
Cynhesrwydd y Gaeaf yn Amgueddfa Wlân Cymru: Lapiwch Eich Hun yn Hud y Gwlân
Blwyddyn eithriadol! Blwyddyn ers cau drysau'r Amgueddfa Lechi dros-dro ar gyfer ailddatblygu!
Lleisiau’r Amgueddfa: Penny Dacey – Cydlynydd Project Bylbiau'r Gwanwyn
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