Dippy yw ein henw ni ar y sgerbwd deinosor hoff, ac rydyn ni’n gwybod fod ganddo hanes diddorol. Ond ai Diplodocus fu’r enw ar y ffosilau yma erioed? Wel, na, mae hynny'n annhebygol...

Rydyn ni wedi clywed sut y daeth 'Dippy' i Lundain ym 1905 yn gast plastr o'r esgyrn ffosil gwreiddiol yn Amgueddfa Carnegie, Pittsburgh. A, diolch i balaentolegwyr, gallwn ei ddychmygu'n anifail byw yn pori coedwigoedd Jwrasig, 145-150 miliwn o flynyddoedd yn ôl, yn diogelu ei hun rhag ysglyfaethwyr gyda'i gynffon chwip.

Ond beth am weddill y stori? O ble ddaeth y ffosilau hyn?

AC-NMW

Ym 1898, diolch i'r diwydiant dur, Andrew Carnegie oedd un o'r dynion mwyaf cyfoethog yn y byd. Roedd yn brysur yn rhoi ei arian i lyfrgelloedd ac amgueddfeydd. Pan glywodd am y deinosoriaid anferth oedd yn cael eu darganfod yng ngorllewin America, dywedodd rywbeth fel “Dwi eisiau un o rheina!” ac anfonodd dîm o Amgueddfa Carnegie i chwilio am yr “anifail mwyaf anferth yma”.

Felly, ym 1899, yn nyddiau olaf Hen Orllewin America, cafodd sgerbwd Diplodocus ei ddarganfod yn Sheep Creek, Albany County, ar wastadeddau Wyoming. Y dyddiad, fel mae'n digwydd, oedd 4 Gorffennaf, Diwrnod Annibyniaeth America. Ac felly y cafodd y ffosil ei lysenw cyntaf gan dîm Carnegie, 'The Star Spangled Dinosaur'. Ond, ymhen hir a hwyr, cafodd y rhywogaeth newydd hon ei chyhoeddi yn swyddogol fel Diplodocus Carnegii.

Byddai safle'r cloddio wedi edrych yn debyg iawn i'r safle tebyg yma gerllaw yn Bone Cabin Quarry, yn yr un flwyddyn.

Mae'r lluniau yma o ddiwedd y 1800au o rannau eraill o Albany County, Wyoming, yn ein helpu i greu darlun (o Wikimedia Commons).

Enw cyntaf Dippy, 'Unkche ghila'

Ond beth am frodorion y gwastadeddau? Oni fyddai'r brodorion wedi darganfod ffosilau deinosor cyn y gwladychwyr Ewropeaidd? Yn ei llyfr, Fossil Legends of the First Americans, mae Adrienne Mayor yn dangos y gwnaethon nhw. Dychmygodd y brodorion ffurfiau gwreiddiol y ffosilau fel Madfallod Anferth, Adar y Taranau a Bwystfilod Dŵr, ac roedd sawl un o'r casglwyr deinosoriaid enwog yn dewis brodorion yn dywyswyr. Mae'r llyfr yma'n dangos fod y brodorion wedi sylwi ar y prosesau daearegol fel difodiant, llosgfynyddoedd a newid yn lefel y môr a’u bod yn sail i’w credoau am ffosilau.

( “Clear”, Pobl Lakota, 1900. Heyn & Matzen )

Y Lakota Sioux oedd brodorion y gwastadeddau lle cafwyd hyd i ffosilau Diplodocus. Ganwyd James LaPointe, pobl Lakota, ym 1893. Dyma hanes a glywodd pan yn fachgen:

“Roedd y Sioux yn galw'r creaduriaid hyn, sy'n cymharu'n fras â deinosoriaid, yn 'Unkche ghila'. Roedd y creaduriaid siâp rhyfedd yn crwydro'r tir mewn grwpiau mawr, ac yna'n diflannu. Mae esgyrn anferth y creaduriaid hyn, sydd bellach wedi diflannu, yn nhiroedd garw de a dwyrain y Bryniau Du. Dyw e ddim yn glir os wnaeth yr unkche ghila ddiflannu, ond mae daeareg y Sioux yn nodi eu bod yn dal i fod o gwmpas pan gododd y Bryniau Du o'r ddaear."

O lyfr James R. Walker, 1983, Lakota Myth.

Felly, trwy law Adrienne Mayor, dyma roi'r gair olaf i Wasanaeth Parciau Cenedlaethol yr UDA:

"Mae straeon a chwedlau'r brodorion yn cynnig persbectif unigryw i arwyddocâd ysbrydol traddodiadol ffosilau ac yn gyfle heb ei ail i ddangos y cysylltiad anhepgor rhwng pobl a natur." Jason Kenworthy a Vincent Santucci, A Preliminary Inventory of National Park Service Paleontological Resources in Cultural Resource Contexts.

Our new role as marine curatorial assistants within the invertebrate biodiversity section of Amgueddfa Cymru has so far not disappointed in offering insights into the tremendous diversity of life in our seas. After the first ten weeks of working to curate and conserve a large set of marine monitoring collections donated to the museum by Natural Resources Wales, we’ve already managed to log over 5,000 records of predominately marine invertebrates from around the welsh coast. These records have included starfish, polychaete worms, bryozoans, molluscs and anemones, to name only a few. Monitoring collections are essential for research in understanding the complexity of the natural world and diversity at many levels. To understand evolution, genetics and the morphological variation of species for example, specimens from many years are often needed, something which is not usually possible with live animals. These voucher specimens also hold valuable information about when and where species live and can be used for verification when the identification of a species is in doubt. An important contemporary issue is that specimens held in collections offer a wealth of baseline information which can be used as a comparison against current observations. This is essential when looking at how climatic changes are impacting marine life. 

For research to happen, specimens must be properly cared for, with their information being easily accessible. Our role can be predominately split into two parts: office and laboratory work. Work in the office encompasses everything from sorting species vials into classification groups, the logging of each vial from analogue to digital formats into a database, where locality information (e.g. sediment type and depth) and method of collection is inputted, to printing new labels for the vials, each with a unique reference number. In the laboratory, the number of specimens in each vial must be counted to accurately record species abundance, vials are then topped up with ethanol, labelled and rehoused into larger jars according to their classification groups. This method of double tubing vials into larger containers acts as not only an accessible way for a particular species to be found, but also as a preventative to stop specimens drying out. These new specimens will be added to an already impressive collection of marine invertebrates at the museum, with over 750,000 specimens. Hopefully, they will be used for generations to come to compare what we know today about the unknowns of the future.

Yn ystod mis Medi 2019, cwblhawyd gwaith atgyweirio, glanhau a phaentio ar offer weindio Big Pit. Gwyliwch y broses yn y ffilm timelapse isod.

Mae angen gwaith adfer ar yr offer i osgoi niwed a chyrydu. Mae’r gwaith yn sicrhau bod ymwelwyr yn medru parhau i fwynhau profiad tanddaearol unigryw'r Amgueddfa, a bod Big Pit yn medru parhau i adrodd hanes pwysig dylanwad y pyllau glo ar gymunedau, y gymdeithas a'r byd diwydiannol.

Mae'r ffilm hon am yr offer weindio yn dangos sut mae popeth yn gweithio:

Cefnogir y project gan Gronfa Treftadaeth y Loteri Genedlaethol a grant adfer gan y Gymdeithas Archaeoleg Ddiwydiannol.

Noson Bluo / Noson Bufio

Mae cyfoeth o draddodiadau yn gysylltiedig â’r Nadolig yng Nghymru; rhai a erys yn boblogaidd hyd heddiw, a rhai sydd wedi mynd yn brinach gydag amser.

Roedd y Noson Bluo (neu "blufio") yn achlysur cymdeithasol pwysig iawn mewn llawer ardal cyn y Nadolig yn y gorffennol.  Rhyw wythnos cyn y dathlu, byddai’r gymuned yn ymuno i bluo ac i baratoi’r gwyddau a’r twrcwns a fu’n tewhau dros yr Hydref i’w gwerthu cyn y diwrnod mawr.  Byddai rhai yn dechrau ben bore ac yn dod â’r gwaith i ben erbyn yr hwyr tra byddai eraill yn cymryd mantais o dawelwch yr oriau tywyll ac yn bwrw ati i bluo drwy’r nos a thacluso popeth yn oriau man y bore cyn dechrau ar dasgau’r diwrnod i ddod.

Roedd yr achlysur yn gyfle i deuluoedd ac i ffrindiau dreulio amser gyda’i gilydd.  Er bod y gwaith yn galed, roedd digon o sbort a sbri i’w gael i’r criw o amgylch y tân yn y gegin, neu o amgylch y gwresogydd mewn sied y tu allan, wrth sgwrsio, dweud jôcs, adrodd straeon, chwarae gemau llafar a chanu ambell i gân.  Dyma ychydig yn rhagor am y digwyddiad arbennig hwn gan ddau o siaradwyr yr Archif Sain:

Pluo yn Sir Drefaldwyn

Ganwyd Catherine Sydney Roberts yn Y Gardden, Llanerfyl, yn 1900.  Roedd yn un o 14 o blant.  Bu’n byw yn ardal Llanerfyl erioed.  Roedd yn wraig hynod ddiwylliedig ac fe’i holwyd gan Minwel Tibbott yn 1972 am fwydydd ar fferm fechan yn ystod cyfnod troad yr 20fed ganrif: 

“Noson bluo, oedd hi’n noson fawr iawn.  Pluo gwydda te.  Fyddan ni wrthi drwy’r nos, dros nos oeddan ni’n neud.  Mi fydda na gymdeithas neilltuol a mi fyddan ni’n mynd er mwyn cael y gymdeithas ‘ddoch chi, te.  Yn ista ar y meincia, odd y dynion i gyd, a rownd bowt, a dwy lantarn neu dair yn hongian o’r llofft.  O, roedd hi’n gynnes reit yna achos oedd na gymaint o fobol a’r lanteri ‘ma, oen nhw’n cynhesu chi.  Ac erbyn y bore oeddan ni wedi gorffen y cwbwl a gallu glanhau fyny.  Doedd neb yn gwbod fod neb wedi bod yn pluo noson gynt bron te.  Hwyl anfarwol, adrodd rhyw hen benillion a … Hwyl anfarwol, noson pluo, ynte.”

Plufio yn Sir Benfro

Ganwyd Clifford Thomas yn 1905 mewn tyddyn bach o’r enw Bryn y Banc ym mhentref Mesur-y-Dorth, ger Croes-goch, Sir Benfro.  Aeth i’r ysgol yng Nghroes-goch i ddechrau ac yna i Ysgol Sir Tyddewi am flwyddyn.  Roedd yn sgwrsiwr heb ei ail ac fe’i holwyd gan Delyth James yn 1972 am arferion y Nadolig a'r Flwyddyn Newydd.

Dyma rai o’i atgofion yntau am y Noson Blufio:

“Odd plufio yn dod ryw wythnos cyn Nadolig.  Gwydde a chwïed a twrcis.  Casglu wedyn, o, ryw ddwsin o fenywod i blufio o’r pentrefi a chwedyn, yng ngwaith i odd lladd y gwydde a’r twrcis a’u cario nhw iddyn nhw fel na bod nhw’n gorffod dod allan o’r pluf.  Odd stafell arbennig mâs, a yn yr ystafell honno on nhw’n plufio.  On ni’n gorffod gofalu bod heaters yndi’r noson cyn hynny, oil heaters fel bod y lle wedi’i dwymo ar eu cyfer nhw, a lampie pryd hynny, lantarne, oil lamps, i oleuo iddyn nhw oherwydd ch’mod, tua’r Nadolig yna ma’r tywydd yn dywyll iawn.   Ma’r dydd yn dywyll.  Dechre tua wyth i hanner awr wedi wyth, hyd wedd hi mlân bump o’r gloch, pump, chweech o’r gloch.  Gorffen wedyn.  Dod i ben â’r cyfan erbyn hynny.  A yn y blynydde cynta, odd na glanhau giblets ymlân, ar ôl hynny wedyn.  Wedi iddyn nhw ddod fewn a châl ‘u te, on nhw’n dechre ar y busnes hwn.  Pryd hynny on nhw’n câl ‘u gwerthu ar wahân i’r gwydde.  Swllt y pâr, swllt y set:  pen, dwy droed, afu a’r galon a’r lasog.”

Often, when writing a book on one subject, you come across fascinating information which cannot be included because it strays too far from the original remit. Such was the case when writing The Curious Case of the Eisteddfod Baton (Wordcatcher Publishing) a fascinating story about a Welsh gold conductor’s baton, housed at Parc Howard Museum, Llanelli. The baton had was given to the National Eisteddfod by William Pritchard Morgan, the ‘Gold King of Wales’ who had given other gifts of Welsh gold, including two now in Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.

The Welsh Gold King

In 1888 William Pritchard Morgan was enjoying mass popularity and success. The millionaire ‘King’ had come a long way from his modest origins at Usk in 1844 where he was born, the son of William Morgan, an influential Wesleyan preacher. They were not rich, the family house consisted of just a back parlour, kitchen with pantry, and three bedrooms for the six family members and a servant. When Morgan was eight his father died from a chill caught while tramping around the country preaching - his will included old carpets and pans, an old piano, about twenty books, a German clock but nothing of silver or gold, and no money. The assessor valued his possessions at just £84 when the average yearly wage for a teacher was around £81.

As soon as he was old enough Morgan was articled to work for Newport lawyer Robert James Cathcart but he did not stay to complete his articles. Apparently he and Cathcart had a ‘lively quarrel’ when Morgan had taken exception to something Cathcart had said to him. Without further ado young Morgan put on his hat and took himself off, but worried about the reception he would receive at home for abandoning his job he decided instead to run away to Australia.

Having sold his watch and law books Morgan proceeded to Liverpool where he embarked for Australia and new opportunities offered by the second largest gold rush in the world – the first having been in California a decade previously. 

Some twenty years later Morgan was back in Wales - now a multimillionaire through his enormously successful legal practice and investments in gold mines. Fascinated by the myriad reports that gold had been found in Wales he bought a mansion on a mountain in Dolgellau - and began digging.

He was not the first to have done so. The Little Gold Rush of North Wales in the 1860s saw huge amounts of money made and lost, all widely reported in the British and colonial press. Morgan, along with half the world, avidly followed the developments until the small gold rush petered out at the end of the decade.

Convinced he could succeed where others had failed Morgan, by force of both his personality and his money, set about transforming the mining of gold in Wales. Shortly after taking over the Gwynfynydd mine in Dolgellau in 1887 Morgan’s faith was vindicated when he hit a large pocket of gold. So fabulous was this discovery that he declared to the whole of Britain there was enough gold in Wales to pay off the national debt. His mine, he said, was going be one of the richest in the world - and as there were fifty other sites in North Wales there was every reason to believe that gold would be found in huge quantities. ‘Gallant Little Wales’ was going to be enormously wealthy.

Morgan’s announcements sent the national press into frenzy. Story after story appeared and every development at Gwynfynydd was enthusiastically reported which in turn brought any array of visitors, from royalty to hordes of sailors who hiked up the mountain on their days off. Morgan became a celebrity and with his new found fame pursued his passion for politics, controversially being elected MP for Merthyr - a huge endorsement of his liberal beliefs and his fight for working class people.

As a celebrity and politician Morgan loved to use his gold. He had specially commissioned pieces presented to leading figures of the day, such as ‘A History and Geography of Wales for the Young’ bound in gold for The Princess of Wales; a paperweight made of a solid piece of gold ore for the Prince of Wales; and a medal and a gold covered album of pictures of Corwen presented to Queen Victoria, commemorating her 1889 visit to Wales. While the whereabouts of these objects are unknown, three of Morgan’s gifts are in Welsh museums: the Eisteddfod baton at Parc Howard, Llanelli (for more on this see The Curious Case of the Eisteddfod Baton (Wordcatcher Publishing)); the Stanley Medal; and the Clara Novello Davies’ baton both – the last two now housed at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.

The Stanley Medal

The Royal Geographical Society’s (RGS) most prestigious award is a gold medal and two are awarded every year, each requiring the approval of the Queen. In 1873 they had presented one to Henry Morton Stanley for finding Dr Livingston; but seventeen years later Stanley carried out an act so universally acknowledged as pure heroism, that the Society wanted to honour him again. However, they had already given him their highest award so what were they to do? In the end they gave him a second gold ‘unofficial’ medal – which is why it does not appear in their annual record of awards.

In 1890, five years after the killing of General Gordon in the revolt against British rule in Egypt, Emin Pasha, then the Governor of Egyptian Sudan, had become trapped during an outbreak of fighting and his plight became world news. It was Stanley who led the controversial Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (1886-89), one of the last major European expeditions into the interior of Africa, where he succeeded in rescuing Pasha. It was in recognition of this bravery that the medal was commissioned - and having sought the advice of the Medal Department of the British Museum the design was entrusted to Elinor Halle.[1]

Elinor Hallé (1856-1926) was a sculptor, inventor and daughter of the conductor and founder of the Hallé Orchestra. She had been a student at London’s Slade School of Art, which in 1871 was the first public art school to admit women on the same terms as men. She had been one of the Slade Girls - a group of women ‘responsible for a large number of the cast medals produced during the revival in Britain in the 1880s and 1890s … now shadowy figures about whom little is known.’[2]

At the time of commission for the Stanley honour, Elinor was a respected medal designer and her medal of Cardinal Newman had won top prize at the 1885 International Inventions Exhibition.

©Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

On the Stanley medal Elinor etched an image of him modelled from Hurbert von Herkomer’s portrait and numerous photographs taken before his departure for Egypt. Around the edges run the inscription ‘H M Stanley Presented by the Royal Geographical Society MDCCCXC.’

On the reverse, a semi-nude female figure representative of Africa is featured. She wears a helmet in the design of an elephant’s head and her foot is upon a crocodile. She holds two jars from which the water of Africa’s two great rivers flows out, inspired by Stanley’s mapping of the central African lakes and the Congo River. In the background are mountains and the sun setting behind a forest. The inscription reads Congo/ Nile/ Rvwenzori[3]/1887-1889 and is signed by Elinor Hallé at the bottom.

When it appeared, Herbert A. Grueber, of the Department of Coins and Medals of the British Museum wrote, ‘I consider it one of the best medals of modern times.’[4] An opinion, he added, that was shared with all his colleagues in the department.

At a huge meeting in the Royal Albert Hall, London on 5 May 1890 the Prince of Wales presented Stanley with the Royal Geographical Society medal of ‘British gold’ while other papers simply referred to it as a gold medal.[5] It is not known how William Pritchard Morgan first became involved but he had been a member of the RGS since 1883[6] and given Stanley was Welsh, Morgan probably recognised a good marketing opportunity. Various papers reported that the gold was ‘given for the express purposes’ of making the medal, indicating that it was a gift.

Bronze versions of the medal were also presented to members (some posthumously) of the Expedition, but Stanley’s African staff just received a silver star.

Over time the medals were sold and some bronze examples can be seen in various museums such as the V&A, the Fitzwilliam and others. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales bought a bronze example and Stanley’s Welsh gold medal from Christie’s on 25 March 1986.[7]

Clara Novello Davies’ baton

Morgan had presented it to Clara Novello Davies, a famous singer and conductor and mother of Ivor Novello.

On 7 December 1900, Clara’s world famous ‘Royal Welsh Ladies’ Choir’ gave a concert at the Palace Theatre, London and that night Morgan presented Clara with the baton as a token of appreciation for the work she had done for music in Wales.[8] Three years later she accidentally left it in a cab. It remained lost for twenty-seven years until Scotland Yard telephoned one day to say that a gold baton had come into their possession with her name engraved on it and returned it to her.[9] What had become of it for twenty-seven years is not known; but once returned to her Clara used it for the rest of her life. After her death it was presented to the museum by her son Ivor Novello. The baton is currently in the stores and cannot be viewed by the public.

©Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

While there are a number of other objects made of Welsh gold in the museum, these are the only two which were gifts of William Pritchard Morgan, the ‘Welsh Gold King.’