Here at Amgueddfa Cymru we have ben busy sharing some of our favourite fossil specimens as part of the twitter hashtag #TrilobiteTuesday

What are Trilobites?

Trilobites were animals that lived in the very ancient oceans, between about 520 and 250 million years ago.  Their name means ‘three-lobed’, and comes from the fact that their hard outer shells, or ‘exoskeletons’, were divided into three distinct areas running down the full length of the body.  On the underside of the body were numerous pairs of jointed legs, making them look like overgrown woodlice.  However, they are a completely extinct type of arthropod, unrelated to modern day pill bugs.  

Our Welsh Trilobite Specimens

We are very lucky in Wales, because many of the rocks that make up our rugged landscape were laid down in the bottom of those very ancient oceans that trilobites called home.  The Museum’s collections contain a very wide range of these fossils.  Thousands of them are stored in wooden drawers in the Palaeontology Stores, sorted according to the geological period during which they lived, and then arranged in alphabetical order based on the name of the genus in which they have been classified.  The scientific names of living and fossil things have two parts: the genus, which is the group of closely-related species to which the creature belongs (in our case, Homo); and the species itself, which in our case is sapiens.  Therefore humans are known scientifically as Homo Sapiens.

An A-Z of Trilobites

We already tweet some of our favourite fossils from the Museum collections every week from the Natural Sciences Department @CardiffCurator Twitter account for #FossilFriday.  So we decided it was time we joined in with another popular palaeontology hashtag, #TrilobiteTuesday.  But confronted with such an abundance of trilobites, how do you choose which ones to share with the world?  Putting together a trilobite alphabet seemed like a logical way to work through the collections and pick out the best examples.  So it was time to dive into those drawers whose labels begin with the letter ‘A’…

Choosing trilobites for the Twitter alphabet turned out to be a fascinating exploration of the way people of the past viewed these fossils, and of the wonderfully creative variety of scientific names bestowed upon living (and once living) things. 

For some letters of the alphabet, we were spoilt for choice – should we choose Agnostus, Agraulos, Acaste, Angelina or Asaphus?  Decisions were made based on a combination of how complete and attractive the fossils are, and whether their names have an interesting meaning or origin.

Other letters proved to be more of a challenge. There are trilobite genera starting with every letter of the alphabet, but some are rare and not represented in the Museum’s collections.  Others are present, but as incomplete specimens that are ill-suited to Twitter stardom.  In a couple of cases, we decided instead to highlight important localities where trilobites are found; ‘Utah, USA’ and ‘Volkhov Valley’ offered the alliterative bonus of repeating that tricky initial letter. 

The alphabet was also a chance to celebrate the work of Museum scientists in discovering and naming new species - Baliothyreus beck and Rorringtonia kennedyi were two new species named by Dr Bob Owens, who was Head of Palaeontology at the Museum for many years and now an Honorary Research Fellow.

It’s difficult to choose favourites from these 26 remarkable trilobites, but the one with the most delightful name has to be Merlinia, named after Welsh wizard Merlin.  People finding its fossilised tails in the past thought that they were butterflies that had been turned to stone.  An old legend in the Carmarthen area tells how Merlin fell in love with a fairy sprite.  Sadly, she did not return his feelings, and one day she lured him into a cave and cast a spell to turn him to stone.  Some butterflies flitting around in the cave were caught up in the magic and can be seen to this day, preserved in the local rocks.

Which tweetable trilobite is your favourite?  Click on the link below, and have a scroll through our alphabet to decide.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1108636415070531585

Glossary:

Arthropod – an invertebrate animal (doesn’t have a backbone) with a hard outer skin and jointed legs.  Arthropods include insects, spiders and crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters.

After a pilot phase in 2018, Children and the Arts have given us funding for another 3 years to run the Start Hospice program working in partnership with our local hospice Tŷ Hafan.

Children and the Arts is a national charity that provides access for children and young people with complex medical needs and their families to engage with arts and culture. The Start Hospice program creates opportunities for children and young people with life-limiting illnesses and their families to access the museum, participate in creative activities outside of the hospice environment and make memories as a family.

Over the course of this year we will deliver 2 family days, one at National Museum Cardiff, and the other at St Fagans National Museum of History as well as outreach sessions at the hospice before and after each family day. Throughout the 6 week summer holiday, we will also run a program of events to support the siblings of the children with life-limiting illnesses. This will be our Super Sibling Summer Camp, culminating in a sleepover with a difference, where siblings get the chance to experience a night at the Royal Court of the Welsh Prince Llywelyn the Great which has been recreated at St Fagans National Museum of History.

Meet the team!

Our project team brings together staff from Amgueddfa Cymru, Tŷ Hafan and KeyCreate who work closely with Tŷ Hafan and were a part of our Pilot Family Day in 2018. Look at the picture below to meet the team!

1. Ian Daniel Learning, Participation & Interpretation Officer, St Fagans National Museum of History
2. Grace Todd Senior Learning, Participation & Interpretation Officer, National Museum Cardiff
3. Hywel Couch Senior Learning, Participation & Interpretation Officer, St Fagans National Museum of History
4. Carla Price Learning, Participation & Interpretation Officer, National Museum Cardiff
5. Dave Morris KeyCreate
6. Louise Stout Family Support Worker, Tŷ Hafan
7. Abi Tong Complementary Therapist, Tŷ Hafan
8. Johanne Langley Learning, Participation & Interpretation Officer, National Museum Cardiff
9. Stephanie Burge Learning, Participation and Interpretation Manager, National Museum Cardiff
10. Lynne Phelps Play and Therapies Lead, Tŷ Hafan
11. Sarah Lee Play Specialist, Tŷ Hafan
12. Kelly-Jo Milford Sibling Support Worker, Tŷ Hafan

Eitem arall yn y gyfres Lleisiau o’r Archifau o Archif Sain, Sain Ffagan Amgueddfa Werin Cymru. Mae’r gyfres hon yn cyd-redeg â gweithgareddau a digwyddiadau amaethyddol yr Amgueddfa. Ffermwyr oedd y siaradwyr, a oedd, fel arfer, wedi byw yn yr un ardal trwy gydol eu hoes. Mae’r disgrifiadau, y profiadau, yr atgofion, y lleisiau a’r acenion yn wreiddiol ac unigryw, o wahanol ardaloedd, ac o wahanol gyfnodau.

I gyd-fynd gyda’r wyna yn Llwyn-yr-eos, fferm yr Amgueddfa, dyma ddarn o recordiad o Dan Theophilus, Allt yr erw, Rhandir-mwyn, a recordiwyd ym mis Gorffennaf 1975, pan yn 65 oed. Mae’n sôn am wahanol agweddau ar wyna: gofalu am y defaid; delio gyda thrafferthion ac afiechydon; mabwysiadu oen; marcio clustiau; a throi’r defaid a’r wyn i’r mynydd.

Each week, hundreds of people will walk through the front doors of the National Museum Cardiff. Yet despite visiting the exhibitions on display, many will be oblivious to what goes on in the background. Conducting a work experience placement at the museum gave us a rare insight into how much work and effort goes on behind closed doors.

With the intention of creating a video for the Saving Treasures, Telling Stories project, we were taken on a tour around the archaeology department on our first day of placement. We were fortunate to be shown around the stores, where many remarkable items were kept for preservation and research. Some of the items we viewed were Roman and prehistoric pots, vases and burial urns, which allowed us to explore how communities and cultures operated thousands of years ago.

The following day we attended Cyfarthfa Museum in Merthyr Tydfil, which is to acquire a hoard of five Roman Denarii, with thanks to funding from the Saving Treasures project. We filmed museum staff and the finders of the hoard, and heard about its significance. It was great to see the enthusiasm of the metal detectorists who discovered the hoard, and how proud they were of their achievement.

We spent the next few days editing the video together back at the University of South Wales campus. This proved to be a difficult job, as there were so many great shots to choose from, so it was difficult to decide which to cut out. However, the staff were always on hand to answer any questions we had and help out where possible.

Working at the National Museum Cardiff was a wonderful experience, and we were able to appreciate just how much work goes on behind closed doors to create the exhibitions we see. This work and research has helped us to understand history and past cultures in greater detail, and we would like to thank all the staff for their friendliness and a great week.

The Museum's economic botany collection includes 218 specimens of medicinal plants and nearly 500 Materia Medica specimens donated by Prof. Terence Turner (Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences). Read more about the Materia Medica collection here.

Economic botany is a term that refers to a group of plants that have recognised societal benefit. The Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales economic botany collection contains over 5,500 plant-based specimens, together with 12,000 timber specimens. Categories within the collection include medicinal plants; food products; dyes and tannins; gums, resins and fibres; and seeds.

The Americas: Coca Kola and Quinine

The medicinal plants collection includes a range of plants from the North Americas used in Native American herbal medicine, including Euonymus atropurpureus (Burning bush), Grindelia species (Gumweed), Sanguinaria canadensis (Blood root) and Ulmus rubra (Slippery Elm bark).

The collection also features a range of medicinal plants used by indigenous peoples in South America including the leaves of Erythroxylum coca (Coca) – considered a stimulant. Cola vera nuts and Erythroxylum coca leaves were used as ingredients of an early form of Coca Cola.

The collection features a significant range of Cinchona species barks acquired in the 1920s – a source of quinine used to cure malaria.

Asia: Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine

Within the collection there are a range of medicinal plants from India and South East Asia, including Butea frondosa – said to have been used to achieve enlightenment by Theraveda Buddhists; Strychnos nux-vomica – also known as Poison nut and used in Ayurvedic and Homeopathic medicinal systems. The collection also includes more familiar specimens including Cinnamomum species (Cinnamon), Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice), Cassia buds and Senna pods.

Medicinal specimens from the UK

In 1939, prior to World War Two, a range of herbs were added to the collection including Arnica montana, Helleborus niger (Black Hellebore), Calendula officinalis, Inula helenium (Elecampane), Chrysanthemum species and Prunus avium (Wild Cherry) bark. In contrast to some of the earlier acquisitions, these are all plants that can be cultivated in the UK.

More recent acquisitions

After the war, there were only four more additions up until 1973. Of note, include Rauwolfia species (Tropical Africa 1969 and India 1969) – recognised as source of reserpine. The 1970s were a more lively time for the collection with 38 additions – perhaps driven by the interest of the Botany Keeper at the time, S.G. Harrison. In 1973–1981, exotic plants were added including Aloe species – (Aloe barbadensis, A.perryi and A.vera), Eucalyptus species, Maranta arundinacea (Arrowroot), Ipomoea species (Sweet potato), Iris species (Orris), Rheum species (Chinese rhubarb), Ricinus communis (Castor oil fruits), Wild Tonka Beans (used in perfumery and source of Coumarin), Derris species – considered to have laxative and carminative properties and used for anti-arthritis treatment, Frangula alnus (Alder buckthorn), Colubrina elliptica (the bark is used for a popular drink in the West Indies, Maubi).

In 2017–2018 Poppy Nicol worked with Heather Pardoe to explore the economic botany collection and its relevance for helping us understand biodiversity and the importance of plants for health and well-being. You can read more about the Sharing Stories Sharing Collections Project.

The People & Plants exhibition runs until this Sunday 17 March 2019 at National Museum Cardiff.

This article is by Poppy Nicol, a visiting researcher from Cardiff University.