Uncovering our Collections: Half a Million Records now Online 26 March 2018 As we reveal half a million collection records for the first time, we look at some of the strangest and most fascinating objects from National Museum Wales Collections Online. This article contains photos of human skeletal fragments. The Biggest We have some real whoppers in our collections - including a full-size Cardiff Tram and a sea rescue helicopter - but the biggest item in our collection is actually Oakdale Workmen's Institute. Built in 1917, the Institute features a billiard room, dance hall and library - and is nowadays found in St Fagans National Museum of History. Horace Watkins testing his monoplane in 1908 Many of the buildings in St Fagans are part of the national collection - meaning they have the same legal status as one of our masterpiece Monets or this coin hoard. The buildings are dismantled, moved, rebuilt - and cared for using traditional techniques, by the museum's legendary Historic Buildings Unit. The Oldest The oldest human remains ever discovered in Wales These teeth belonged to an eight year-old Neanderthal boy - and at 230,000 years old, they are the oldest human remains in Wales. They were discovered in a cave near Cefn Meiriadog in Denbighshire, along with a trove of other prehistoric finds, including stone tools and the remains of a bear, a lion, a leopard and a rhinocerous tooth. These teeth are among some of the incredible objects on display at St Fagans National Museum of History The Shiniest People in Wales have been making, trading and wearing beautiful treasures from gold for thousands of years - like this Bronze Age hair ornament and this extremely blingy Medieval signet. At around 4000 years old, this sun disc is one of the earliest and rarest examples of Welsh bling One of the earliest examples of Welsh bling is this so-called 'sun disc', found near Cwmystwyth in Ceredigion. Current research suggests that these 'sun discs' were part of ancient funeral practice, most likely sewn onto the clothes of the dead before their funerals. Only six have ever been found in the UK. Most Controversial At first glance, an ordinary Chapel tea service - used by congregations as they enjoyed a 'paned o de' after a service. A closer look reveals the words - 'Capel Celyn'. The chapel, its graveyard and surrounding village are now under water. Capel Celyn, in the Tryweryn Valley, is now underwater Flooded in 1965 by the Liverpool Corporation, the Tryweryn valley became a flashpoint for Welsh political activism - creating a new generation of campaigners who pushed for change in how Welsh communities were treated by government and corporations. Curators from St Fagans collected these as an example of life in Capel Celyn - to serve as a poignant reminder of a displaced community, and to commemorate one of the most politically charged moments of the 20th century in Wales. Honourable Mention: an Airplane made from a Dining Room Chair Made from a dining room chair, piano wire and a 40 horsepower engine, the Robin Goch (Red Robin) was built in 1909 - and also features a fuel gauge made from an egg timer. The Robin Goch (Red Robin) on display at the National Waterfront Museum Its builder, Horace Watkins, was the son of a Cardiff printer - here he is pictured with an earlier, even more rickety version of his famous monoplane. Horace Watkins testing his monoplane in 1908 Our collections are full of stories which reflect Wales' unique character and history. The Robin Goch is one of the treasures of the collection, and is an example of Welsh ingenuity at its best. Half a Million Searchable Items The launch of Collections Online uncovers half a million records, which are now searchable online for the first time. “Collections Online represents a huge milestone in our work, to bring more of our collections online and to reach the widest possible audience. It’s also just the beginning. It’s exciting to think how people in Wales and beyond will explore these objects, form connections, build stories around them, and add to our store of knowledge." – Chris Owen, Web Manager Search Collections Online Plans for the future Our next project will be to work through these 500,000 records, adding information and images as we go. We'll be measuring how people use the collections, to see which objects provoke debate or are popular with our visitors. That way, we can work out what items to photograph next, or which items to consider for display in our seven national museums. Preparing and photographing the collections can take time, as some items are very fragile and sensitive to light. If you would like to support us as we bring the nation's collections online, please donate today - every donation counts. Donate Today We are incredibly grateful to the People's Postcode Lottery for their support in making this collection available online.
The Late Bronze Age hoard from Trevethin: A Tale of Axes and Spears Matthew Guiseppe Knight, 16 September 2017 The Trevethin Hoard, Torfaen The upper blade of the broken South Wales axe. Imagine the scene. You’re out walking in a field. You have your trusty metal-detector in hand, sweeping backwards and forwards across the ground as you walk. A steady rhythmic beep emits with each step. Suddenly the machine starts beeping more frequently. Something lies beneath the ground. You crouch down to dig, to see what you’ve found. As you dig you start to reveal an ancient axehead… This was the story for metal-detectorist, Gareth Wileman in November 2014. Over a couple of weeks Gareth uncovered a Late Bronze Age hoard comprising three bronze socketed axeheads and two bronze spearheads in close proximity in the Community of Trevethin, Torfaen. Recognising the significance of the find, Gareth promptly contacted Mark Lodwick, the Finds Co-ordinator for Portable Antiquities Scheme Cymru, who was able to investigate the hoard findspot. The hoard was buried around 3000 years ago (between 950-800 BC) during the Late Bronze Age. This period is a time when large amounts of metalwork, including weapons and tools, were hoarded and buried in various locations in the landscape. What’s in the hoard? While the objects in the hoard may be broadly classed as ‘axeheads’ and ‘spearheads’, each object represents a distinctive type, that we can use to inform our understanding of how different objects were traded in the Bronze Age. Of particular interest is the socket of a ‘South Wales’ socketed axe that was buried within the hoard. The cutting edge was deliberately removed in the Bronze Age. One of the other axes has also been deliberately damaged. These axes have three vertical ribs on both faces and are particularly common in… you guessed it, South Wales! Conversely, one of the spearheads is relatively rare. It is referred to as a ‘lunate opening spearhead’ due to two semi-circular holes in the middle of the blade. The tip of this spearhead has broken off and part of the socket has broken off, which may also have been deliberate. Why does the hoard matter? The Trevethin hoard was found in an area where Bronze Age activity was previously unknown. It adds to a growing volume of Late Bronze Age material found across Wales. Gathering or hoarding objects and burying them is a widespread tradition in the Late Bronze Age, but reasons behind this are uncertain. Combinations of weapons, such as spears, and tools, such as axes, are common in Late Bronze Age hoards. These categories should not be taken too seriously though; an axe can be a deadly weapon too, while some spearheads might have been ceremonial items. The combination of different objects may represent a single person’s collection of objects. Alternatively, it may reflect several people coming together to bury objects that were important to the local area. We will probably never know exactly what is represented in the Trevethin hoard. The rare ‘lunate opening’ spearhead. The only complete axe in the hoard One axe was found broken with lots of smaller fragments. Excavating the hoard was very muddy! To Break or Not To Break In the Trevethin hoard, the blades of two of the axes appear to have been deliberately removed. The spearheads display similar intentional damage. However, the third axe was left complete. Why was this? And where are the missing pieces? It’s possible that the pieces are still out there, waiting to be found. However, deliberately destroying objects in hoards was common. Certain parts of objects were selected for burial – in this case the socket end of the axes – while others were excluded (the cutting edge). In other hoards, we sometimes only find axe blades and no sockets. The part of the object that was included may have been important. Including complete objects also has significance. At Trevethin, the complete axe was sharpened and probably used before it was buried. It still would have been functional, so why abandon a useful, usable tool? It is possible the axe was used over many years and was significant to its owners, which made it suitable for burial. It’s important to think of these items as both functional and symbolic objects. Understanding the Bronze Age Archaeology is about understanding people in the past. The Trevethin hoard offers a valuable insight into the Bronze Age in this area of Wales, where previously no prehistoric material was known. It shows that Bronze Age communities were present and engaging with their objects in mysterious ways we might only speculate. Every find helps us understand the broader picture, and the Trevethin hoard is an important step towards this. Notes and Acknowledgements This hoard was responsibly reported through Portable Antiquities Scheme Cymru and is now proudly on display at Pontypool Museum where it can be enjoyed by all members of the public. It was acquired with funding from the Saving Treasures: Telling Stories Project. More details on how the hoard was investigated, as well as a conversation with the finder, Gareth Wileman, can be found here. Thanks to Adam Gwilt (Principal Curator: Prehistory at National Museum Wales) and Mark Lodwick (Finds Coordinator: PAS Cymru) for allowing me access to an unpublished report on the hoard.
The Swansea Bay Dagger Abigail Dickinson and Roqib Monsur, 21 June 2017 In 1971, Architecture student Paul Tambling was blissfully unaware of perhaps the biggest archaeological discovery that he would ever make in his lifetime and how finding the Swansea Bay dagger (as it is now known) would have an impact on his life. While walking along Swansea beach Paul and his partner Angela noticed what appeared to be a piece of flint poking out of the sand. What they had discovered purely by chance, was in fact, a ‘4200 year old flint dagger’. Paul told us: “When I picked up the dagger I was mystified as to how the dagger would have got there in the first place especially as flint does not naturally outcrop anywhere in Wales. Also, the flint was in an immaculate condition and did not appear to have been adversely affected by the action of the sea. I regard it as not only a great work of art but also a very skilled piece of workmanship and I find that it gives me great inspiration when I am designing buildings, where I am also constantly aiming to achieve such a level of craftsmanship”. Almost 46 years later, and still in possession of the dagger the couple keep the item close to their hearts and believe it to be a unique symbol of their lasting relationship. Paul said: “During and since my student days the flint has moved with me in an old envelope over six times and there were periods of my life when I actually thought that I had lost it. Nevertheless, since I recently discovered its huge historic importance, the flint in rarely out of my sight” The flint has now been identified as a ‘Beaker Folk Dagger’ dating from the early Bronze Age, around 2250 to 2000 years BC which makes it around 4200 years old. In its day it carried great symbolic relevance as it would have accompanied high status burials to be with the deceased in the afterlife. There are a small number of other daggers that have been found in Wales but none are of the quality of the Swansea Bay dagger. The greatest number of daggers of this period have been found in South East England. The Beaker Dagger has its huge archaeological and symbolic value, but what does it mean to Paul and Angela as a family? “This dagger represents the span of our married life. I found it 3 years before we got married and it’s an object that provides us with a special and lasting reminder of those wonderful weekends spent in Swansea all those years ago and binds us together. It was a magical time which just can’t be repeated.” Paul and Angela Tambling, who run an architectural consultancy practice based in Brecon, had been unaware of the importance of the dagger but since its archaeological relevance has come to light they are constantly told by experts how lucky they were to find such an important object and in such an un-expected location. “I suppose luck is on my side” said Paul “I was lucky to marry Angela and lucky to find the dagger while with Angela.” Paul told us that he instinctively knew that it was a marvellous object as soon as he picked it up but couldn’t work out whether it was a dagger or a spear head. Through the years Angela has been continually saying to him. “Why don’t you go and find out?” After much badgering Paul finally decided to visit Brecknock Museum only to find, when he got there, that it was closed for extensive restoration work. In early 2016 the couple attended a demonstration of flint knapping in Cyfarthfa Museum, Merthyr Tydfil, given by Phil Harding of Time Team. It was here, after speaking with Phil that the true importance of the dagger become apparent and Phil advised that this object of archaeological importance should be recorded and the find reported to Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Soon after, the couple were contacted by, and subsequently met with, Mark Lodwick the Portable Antiquities Scheme Finds Co-ordinator for Wales at Amgueddfa Cymru. When Mark explained the significance of the dagger Paul said: “The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up when I was told about the layers of significance of the dagger and the fact that I was in the possession of something that somebody has made 4200 years ago”. Paul continued “I held this object in my hand reflecting on the fact that I had previously treated it with a kind of disrespect since 1971, storing it in an old envelope in the back of a drawer somewhere.” Since meeting with Phil Harding and Mark Lodwick attention in the dagger has increased dramatically and this has prompted both Paul and Angela to take a greater interest in both archaeology and the Beaker Folk. Currently there are no plans for a museum to acquire the Swansea Bay dagger as the item belongs to Paul and Angela but they have made every effort, with the help of Mark Lodwick, to make the importance of the dagger known to the public.
A Fake in Our Galleries? 29 June 2016 Caernarvon Castle by Richard Wilson Claude Monet, Charing Cross Bridge, 1902 Thomas Jones' 'Buildings in Naples', 1782 'The Sea's Edge', Arthur Giardelli, 1990 The Beacon Light, J.M.W. Turner A Missing Masterpiece We are always learning more about our collections at National Museum Cardiff - whether it's about the lives of fascinating sitters, uncovering hidden portraits under layers of paint, or more about the artists' journeys. This month, however, we're putting your know-how to the test - to see whether you can spot an impostor in our collection. Throughout July, we will be replacing one of our works of art with a fake, as part of Sky Arts' competition and tv show: Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge. Can you find the fake? We're appealing to armchair art detectives everywhere, to visit National Museum Cardiff and find the fake. A copy has been made of a great work of 'British Landscape' painting, and will be hanging in our galleries throughout July. Once you've decided which one of our works isn't quite what it seems, place your vote online - all will be revealed on Sky Arts later this year, and unveiled in a special exhibition. The Art Collections at Cardiff We have over a thousand works of art on display at National Museum Cardiff - from our famous impressionist collection, to contemporary works, installations and applied art. Entry is free, so visit us this month to find the fake. To make things a little easier, we're focussing on our landscape collections. Here are some of its highlights and hidden gems: The Golden Age of the Picturesque At National Museum Cardiff, you'll find works by master landscape painter Richard Wilson - whose amazing ability to capture scenes bathed in Mediterranean light led him to be known as the 'Father of British Landscape'. You will also find a portrait of this artist, at work by his easel, in our Historic Art galleries - painted by his contemporary, Anton Mengs. Different Perspectives: Cityscapes and Nocturnes As the landscape changes over time, so have artists' techniques and perspectives. No bigger than a picture postcard, Thomas Jones' urban scenes, painted ahead of their time in the 1780s, show snapshots of the backstreets and roofs of Naples. Jones' work appears alongside studies of nature in our Paintings from Nature gallery. Italy's cities appear in our Art in Britain around 1900 galleries, with Venice featuring often in works such as Sickert's 'Palazzo Camerlenghi', his 'Palazzo Eleanora Duse' - and Whistler's Nocturne: Blue and Gold, showing the Piazza San Marco. Painting Light In our galleries, you'll find an extensive collection of Impressionist works, from Dorothea Sharp's open-air scenes and Monet's famous Waterlilies, to post-impressionist masterpieces such as Cézanne's 'The François Zola Dam'. Arguably one of the UK's most famous artists, J.M.W Turner was a precursor of the impressionist style - capturing the bluster and chaos of a storm in works such as 'The Beacon Light', or golden sunrises and seascapes in 'The Morning After the Storm'. Three of Turner's lesser-known works, branded as 'fakes' in the 1950s, were studied in detail and recently confirmed as a genuine. These works are now proudly on display in our Victorian Gallery, alongside works by pre-raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti and miniature maquettes of one of Cardiff's most famous landmarks, the castle's Animal Wall. Wales's Inspiring Landscape The Power of the Land: The Welsh Landscape gallery tells the story of Wales' changing landscape, and the way it has inspired painters, sculptors and travellers over the centuries. From the eighteenth century artists began to explore Wales in unprecedented numbers. Today Wales is still attracting artists, re-interpreting the places and paintings of the past, looking at the land in new ways. From Kyffin Williams' wild mountains to Cardiff's industrial docks, you'll find them in this beautiful circular gallery. Related Events If you'd like to take a closer look at the collection, we have free guided tours every Wednesday and Saturday at 12.30pm. Take a look at highlights including works by Cézanne, L.S Lowry, Richard Wilson and J.M.W. Turner, with our friendly gallery guides.
A new discovery within an old instrument: was the Welsh crwth unique in possessing two soundboxes? 2 April 2012 The National Library of Wales crwth. Image: National Library of Wales The 18th century crwth housed at St Fagans National Museum of History Amgueddfa Cymru is fortunate enough to house one of only three surviving authentic Welsh crwths in Britain. Does the discovery of a hidden aperture make the crwth unique amongst bowed instruments by having two soundboxes? An early stringed instrument first referred to in writing in the 12th century Laws of Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), the crwth was popular in Wales throughout the Middle Ages, when it was enjoyed in aristocratic circles. The Laws of Hywel Dda mention the crwth, along with the harp and pipes, as instruments of status, played by noblemen and frequently providing musical entertainment. Crwth competitions were contested in the first recorded eisteddfod, held by Lord Rhys at Cardigan Castle in 1176, while a cywydd poem by Rhys Goch Eryri c.1436, delights in the magicians, acrobats and musicians (crwth players included), who were welcomed into the households of wealthy patrons. The emergence of the fiddle The social role of the crwth altered significantly from around 1600 onwards however, when it became more associated with the folk music tradition. The emergence of the fiddle during the 18th century effectively brought crwth playing and crwth making to an end in Wales, closing over a thousand years of practice and development. When an increase of interest in traditional music eventually took place during the late 20th century, the once common art of constructing a crwth, along with the most appropriate playing methods and performance techniques, had all but become a mystery. The last remaining crwths Of the three remaining historical examples in existence, each comprise a six-stringed instrument, oblong in shape and possessing a flat back, sides and soundboard, with the body and soundbox, as well as the main frame, being fashioned from a single piece of wood. A fingerboard divides a rectangular opening at one end while two holes can be seen in the soundboard. The St Fagans crwth The crwth in the Museums collection is inscribed 1742 and was made by Richard Evans of Llanfihangel Bachellaeth, Caernarfonshire. It was originally loaned to the museum by Colonel J.C.Wynne Finch of Y Foelas, Caernarfonshire, in 1935; the family of whom retains ownership of the instrument to this day. Although complete there is a line of blocked off tuning pin holes slightly offset from the current set. The Aberystwyth crwth The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, houses a second crwth, which was donated on the library's opening in 1907 by its principal founder Sir John Williams. This instrument was possibly owned by the Reverend John Jenkins (1770-1829) of Ceri, Montgomeryshire. Although it is complete (with the exception of two missing drone strings), it has undergone restoration/repair at some point to the main framework. The Warrington crwth The final example is kept at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, and although its date is unknown, it bears a likeness to an instrument described and drawn in the 1775 edition of the journal Archaeologia (volume III, plate vii). This crwth was bought in Wales in 1843 by Dr James Kendrick, one of Warrington's first local historians and a noted antiquarian. Kendrick donated the artefact to the town that same year and it became one of the earliest exhibits at the local museum. The Warrington crwth is less complete than the other two, with missing tailpiece, strings, fingerboard and nut. The St Fagans crwth under x-ray. The darkened area within the neck clearly shows a tapering void and at its widest point is an aperture concealed beneath the fingerboard. The x-ray of the National Library crwth displaying the same tapering characteristics as the St Fagans example. The crwth at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery. © Warrington Museum and Art Gallery The missing fingerboard on the Warrington crwth allows the tapering void to be seen more clearly. This is visible on the photograph by the lighter bare wood which is bordered by a darker glue-lined impression. Hidden aperture revealed Conservation work on the St Fagans crwth uncovered a hidden aperture beneath an overhanging fingerboard. On further inspection this seemed to travel up the full length of the neck. X-rays of the instrument revealed a tapering, very purposeful cavity extending the full length of the fingerboard. The effect of this void reduces the surface area available for the fingerboard to adhere to the neck. Consequently, it would have been much more difficult to construct than had a solid, flat surface been used - which would have better adhered to the neck upper surface. What would have been the reason for constructing such an aperture? An increase in the tonal quality of the instrument? The aperture might well have performed in much the same way as the soundbox of an instrument or amplifier to provide a fuller sound to the vibration of the strings. Unique among bowed instruments? This second soundbox could possibly make the crwth unique amongst bowed instruments as such a design feature has no comparable legacy in the violin family. Inspection of the Aberystwyth crwth revealed a similar aperture in the neck. As this surviving example contains different design features to that housed at St Fagans, (and presumably constructed by a different maker), it seems quite plausible that such a void might well have been a consistent characteristic for all crwths. To confirm this hypothesis, close study of an image from the crwth at Warrington Museum revealed the tapering adhesive lines still visible on each side of the neck, with the bare wood area in the middle, showing the extent of the original aperture. Again, the variations in design suggest a different maker. Therefore, the inclusion of an aperture in the crwth must have been a standard construction technique that crwth makers employed for the manufacture of the instrument. The difference this aperture makes to the sound of the instrument could possibly be tested by recording the tonal scale of a replica crwth with a solid fingerboard, and then hollowing out the same instrument and recording the difference. Ultraviolet discovery Another aspect worth noting is an ink design that appears on the top surface of the St Fagans crwth's fingerboard, which only became apparent under ultraviolet light examination. The linear graphic design found under ultraviolet light on the top surface of the fingerboard on the St Fagans crwth. As the crwth was commonly held against the torso, the player could see down the instrument's neck and a design inked along the neck could possibly have aided the positioning of the fingers along the instrument's length. Interestingly, a vestige of this design also appears on the soundboard of a small harp which is also housed at St Fagans. Article by: Emyr Davies, Conservator: Furniture, Musical Instruments and Horology, St Fagans National History Museum and Emma Lile, Curator: Music, Sports and Customs, St Fagans National History Museum
