Amgueddfa Cymru

Today, 8 January, marks the 190th birthday of the intrepid explorer and brilliant naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Born in 1823 in the village of Llanbadoc near Usk, Wallace went on to be one of the most celebrated scientists of his era.

Wallace spent much of his early working years as a civil engineer in the south Wales area, particularly in the Vale of Neath. This involved spending a great deal of time working outdoors, which allowed him to indulge in his growing passion for natural history.

Soon, inspired by the writings of traveling naturalists such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin, Wallace set out on his own intrepid travels. These adventures started in the Amazon Basin and were followed later by his explorations of the Malay Archipelgo.

During these trips Wallace collected many thousands of birds, butterflies and beetles, many of which were new to science. The biological diversity he encountered inspired his thinking in many areas of biology such as the distribution and evolution of species. His brilliance did not go un-noticed and in 1858 he famously co-published the theory of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin.

During 2013 Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, along with other museums and institutions across the world, will be marking the centenary of the death of A R Wallace in a celebration of his life and legacy. Keep an eye on our web site and blog for further information as we finalise details and dates. You will also be able to follow other events and exhibitions on the Wallace100 website.

Following on from the last post about our Natural History Halloween Open Day, we thought you might like to see some more pictures of the event.

We had some freshly collected fungi on display, including an invitation to sample the smell of a fresh stinkhorn and to speculate on the significance of the smell to the biology of the fungus. We found it got some interesting reactions (although it’s not so fun being sat downwind from it!).

There were also some less stinky but realistic wax models of fungi. These were made in the mid 1900s by our in-house botanical model-maker, a practice that continues today.

A ‘murder mystery’ had also taken place in our herbarium (the plant collections), an area not usually open to the public. Whilst surrounded by our quarter of a million pressed herbarium specimens, you had to work out which plant was used to poison the victim!

If this has whetted your appetite, keep an eye on our Natural History collections Twitter feed @NatHistConservation for more behind the scenes sneak peeks. Also stay tuned to the What’s On guide on our main website for details of the next Open Day. More stories from behind the scenes can also be found on the 'Rhagor' pages of our website e.g. conserving wax models.

More than 20 years ago the Museum was donated a large research collection of animal bones. This had been put together by a veterinary scientist, Dr Barbara Noddle. The collection mainly consists of sheep, goat and cattle bones from many different breeds.

When it was donated the collection was in a poor state and required extensive conservation and curation. Today it is now housed in over 600 boxes at our offsite Collection Centre at Nantgarw, and a database is available on the website.

Over the years the Noddle Collection has mainly been used in zoo-archaeological research – this is the study of animal remains found at archaeological sites. However parts of the collection will soon find their way into the exhibition limelight!

From the 13th October ‘The Wolf Inside’ exhibition opens. This will be looking at animal domestication, focusing on dogs but also exploring other animals such as sheep and chickens. And this is where Barbara’s collection of old bones finds a new use. We are using a range of skulls from the collection to show some of the diversity found in the different breeds of sheep. A range of these skulls have been checked over and polished up ready for public display.

Along with the skulls there will also be a whole range of animal specimens on display from the museums collections, many of which we haven’t had the opportunity to bring out for many years.

The exhibition runs until February next year.

At long last all the natural history galleries are now open again at National Museum Cardiff. You can see old favourites such as the Humpback Whale and the world's largest recorded Leatherback Turtle but there is also something new.

We have created a new gallery which is an introduction to marine biodiversity - or life in the sea. The gallery has over 100 new marine specimens on display with a focus on marine invertebrates rather than fish and you will also find specimens of seaweeds, an often neglected group when it comes to museum displays.

Nearly all the specimens have been displayed in indvidual cases which allows you to get up close and marvel at the intricate design of some of these beasts (and algae!). We have reserved the 3 large cases to display heavy or fragile specimens. Two have displays of some of our fantastic Blaschka glass models. The detail in these models has to be seen to be believed and all the more amazing is they were made over 100 years ago.

So if you are in Cardiff and have an hour free why not pop in and have a look at the new galleries.

The west wing natural history galleries have now been closed for well over a year. This has been due to the building works replacing the west wing roof and installing the new contemporary art galleries on the top floor. These works are completed and we are now working hard to get the ground floor natural history galleries back into shape.

The front gallery remains mainly the same but we have taken the opportunity to give the dioramas a deep clean, replace the carpet and redo the lighting. As a result the space is looking much brighter and fresher.

The remaining ground floor gallery space has seen some big changes. We are currently installing a new display area called ‘Insight’. This is a series of modular displays, many with interactive touch screens, which will explore the science that goes on behind the scenes at the museum.

Beyond this is another new display area that looks at evolution, and provides a linking space to the newly refurbished science education room.

These spaces will all be fully open to the public on April 16^th when we look forward to welcoming you back into these gallery spaces.

Unfortunately the mezzanine area gallery spaces, where the Leatherback Turtle and Humpback Whale can be found, will remain closed a few months longer. Once the ground floor is open we will be cleaning and redoing some of the displays in this area in preparation for the BBC Wildlife Photographer exhibition which opens in mid June.

Mai 2010. Dwi’n sefyll ar bwys y pen mwyaf dwi erioed wedi’i weld. Wedi’i gerfio mewn tywodfaen a’i baentio, mae’n perthyn i Fwdha anferth sy’n lledorwedd yng nghanol teml ogof Baodingshan.  Baodingshan, ‘Copa’r Trysorau’, yw’r mwyaf syfrdanol o’r 75 safle teml wedi’u cerfio o garreg sy’n ffurfio Safle Treftadaeth y Byd Dazu yn ne-orllewin Tsieina. Mae 10,000 o ffigurau unigol i’w gweld yn y graig dywodfaen 500m, gafodd eu cerfio rhwng OC1177 a 1249.

Mae’n brofiad aruthrol. Dwi’n methu â chredu cymaint oedd yr uchelgais ar gyfer y safle Bwdhaidd; y dychymyg soffistigedig a’i cynlluniodd; a sgiliau’r artistiaid a’i cerfiodd. Rydw i yma gyda fy nghydweithiwr Steve Howe i gynllunio arddangosfa o gerfiadau Dazu yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd tua dechrau 2011, a dwi’n pendroni sut ydyn ni’n mynd i gyfleu hud y llefydd hyn i’n hymwelwyr ni.

Yr ymweliad yma â Dazu yw fy nhro cyntaf yn ôl yn Tsieina ers i mi dreulio cyfnod yn gweithio yma tua chanol y 1980au. Mae Tsieina wedi newid yn aruthrol wrth gwrs, ac mae cyflymdra’r newid yn dwyn anadl dyn bron cymaint â’r bwyd Sichuanaidd chwilboeth (y gorau yn Tsiena, yn fy marn i) mae ein lletywyr hael yn ein hannog i’w fwyta bob cyfle posib. Ond, er gwaetha’r newidiadau eraill, mae’r pethau pwysicaf, sef y bobl gymdeithasol, a’u balchder o’u treftadaeth ddiwylliannol ragorol, yma o hyd.

Yn ystod ein hwythnos gyda’n cydweithwyr yn Amgueddfa Cerfiadau Carreg Dazu, rydyn ni wedi datblygu cyfeillgarwch cynnes llawn ymddiried, ac rydyn ni wedi sylweddoli y bydd gennym ni gyfle i greu rhywbeth arbennig iawn yn ôl yng Nghaerdydd. Wedi’r cyfan, mae Dazu yn cynrychioli sbri mawr olaf celf mewn temlau ogof, a dyw’r trysorau o gyfnod llinach y Song (OC960-1279) ddim wedi cael eu gweld tu allan i Tsieina o’r blaen.

 

Yn ôl yng Nghymru fach, roedd y tîm arddangosfeydd yn barod am yr her, ac fe lwyddon nhw, o dan bwysau amser sylweddol, i gyfleu drama a thangnefedd ymweliad â theml ogof wedi’i cherfio mewn carreg. Mae harddwch eithriadol y cerfiadau – sy’n ysbrydol ac yn arbennig o ddynol ar yr un pryd – yn sefyll allan. O blith nifer o hoff ddarnau, byddwn yn dewis ffigur myfyriol Zhao Zhifeng, dylunydd safle Baodingshan, ac i’r gwrthwyneb yn hollol, y teulu o gymeriadau o feddrod sy’n cynnwys y tad difrifol, y fam hyfryd, a dau o blant drwg. Ond, mae’r lle blaenaf yn mynd i Fwdha Sakyamuni. Mae’r Bwdha yn ei holl ogoniant awdurdodol ac urddasol yn croesawu’r ymwelwyr i’r arddangosfa ac yn rhoi canolbwynt arbennig o ysbrydol i’r profiad.

 Roeddwn i’n arbennig o falch o weld bod y canlyniadau wedi plesio ein cydweithwyr Tsieineaidd, a hefyd o weld brwdfrydedd ymwelwyr o bob lliw a llun, boed y rheini o Gaerdydd neu Tsieina, yn arbenigwyr neu’n blant ysgol. Peidiwch â phoeni os yw’r holl ffigurau a’r syniadau Bwdhaidd, a’r syniadau Conffiwsaidd a Taoaidd sy’n plethu â nhw, yn ormod i chi. Mwynhewch y sioe, a chofiwch am arysgrif arall yn Dazu sy’n cyfleu symlrwydd Bwdhaeth: ‘o ddeall yn glir; gwelir nad oes dim i’w ddeall’.

Andrew Renton, Pennaeth Celf Gymwys, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd

Wedi sicrhau bod arddangosfa Dazu yn dod i Gymru - y tro cyntaf erioed iddi fentro i’r Gorllewin – anfonodd yr Amgueddfa fi i Tsieina fel hwylusydd, wyneb cyfeillgar i gyfarfod â’r bobl ac adrodd ar y gofynion logistaidd llawn o gludo’r gwrthrychau sanctaidd yma yr holl ffordd i Gaerdydd.

Dyma ddyddiadur o atgofion y trip:

Po bellaf y teithiwch, y lleiaf y gwyddoch. Mae’r llinell honno o ddysgeidiaeth Tao yn fy atgoffa i anghofio unrhyw ragdybiaethau.

Rwy’n cyrraedd Dazu yn hwyr min nos ac wedi diwrnod cyfan o deithio mewn amrywiol seddi bychan anghyfforddus, rwy’n ddiolchgar i orffen fy nhaith o’r diwedd. Mae fy ngwesteiwyr wedi cyffroi fy mod wedi cyrraedd ac wedi paratoi swper croeso yn garedig iawn. Platiau mawr egsotig a lliwgar yw’r bwyd, prydau crefftus â garnais arbennig.

Platiau di-ri i Susan ddiog, cylch hud o aroglau a blasau anghyffredin sy’n gwneud i mi ddyheu am ollyngdod llwyr. Rwy’n cael fy helpu drwy bob cwrs gyda disgrifiadau manwl. Pryfed sidan, deintgig moch a chynffon rhywbeth! Mwynheais yn barchus fod yn destun digrifwch y noson, gwestai anrhydeddus y wledd gywrain.

Drannoeth dyma fi’n sefyll wrth droed y mynydd â’m gwadnau lledr ar risiau hynafol sydd wedi gweld sawl gwadn dros y canrifoedd. Mae llystyfiant trwchus yn gorchuddio’r copa sy’n gudd mewn mantell o niwl chwareus.

Yn Beishan mae pinacl cerfiadau carreg Tseineiadd, ac mae’r delweddau cyfarwydd o lyfrau bellach yn ddelweddau real artistig ac ysbrydol. Mae mawredd y cerfluniau rhagorol yma a’u hawdurdod cain yn neidio o’r waliau sy’n 10 metr o uchder, gyda phob cilfach yn gartref i olygfeydd gosgeiddig sy’n wych yn eu tywodfaen rhudd. Diwrnod i’w gofio heb os!

Mae’n bryd cwrdd â’r cyfryngau lleol y bore wedyn. Mae arogl gwniadur o wirod gwyn yn dweud cyfrolau am ei flas. Rwy’n gwybod bod yn rhaid i mi ei yfed ar ei ben. Fi yw’r atyniad pennaf heddiw ac mae pawb am gael gair â mi.

Ffilmio ar gyfer teledu Chongqing yw’r dasg gyntaf ac mae erthygl ar dudalen flaen papur lleol Dazu hefyd. Mae’n anodd cofio’r cyfweliadau, profiad swrreal braidd o ryddiaith Saesneg fratiog, drosgynnol wedi’i ddatgan gyda chyffro a syndod. Mae’n rhaid ei bod hi wedi mynd yn iawn a mod i wedi meithrin cyfeillgarwch wrth i giw trefnus ffurfio i rannu gwydryn arall o’r tân gwyn!

Heno yw fy noson olaf yn Tsieina yn anffodus. Rwy’n syllu drwy’r niwl parhaol ar nenlin tyrrau Chongqing sy’n taflu enfys neon dros afon Yangzi. Rwy’n gadael prysurdeb y strydoedd ac arogl huddygl a tofu’n ffrio, ac yn gweld y ddinas yn ei gogoniant o gwch pleser gorlawn.

Mae’r newidiadau creadigol a masnachol anferth sydd ar droed yn Tsieina yn adrodd hanes y newid o wleidyddiaeth rymus i economeg ymarferol. Gall Tsieina a gweddill y byd ddysgu llawer o ddidwylledd China. Rwy’n gadael â lle yn fy nghalon i’r wlad a’i phobl.

Lee Jones, Uwch Dechnegydd, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd

Parcha’r byd fel dy hun

Gall y byd fod yn hafan it

Car y byd fel dy hun

Gall y byd fod yn ymddiriedaeth it.

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Rydw i wedi delio ag arddangosfeydd o bob lliw a llun yn ystod fy nghyfnod fel dylunydd yn Amgueddfa Cymru, ac roedd arddangosfa Cerfiadau Carreg Dazu yn sialens unigryw, yn enwedig y pennau!

Mae sawl pen carreg trwm yn rhan o’r arddangosfa, pennau sydd wedi eu gwahanu o’u cyrff drwy fandaliaeth hanesyddol neu draul amser (maen nhw dros 1000 o flynyddoedd oed wedi’r cyfan!).

Roedd hi’n broblem eu harddangos mewn modd diogel oedd hefyd yn hwylus i’r cyhoedd eu gweld. Roedd yn rhaid iddi fod yn system hyblyg a chyflym hefyd: dim ond deg diwrnod oedd gyda ni rhwng y cerfluniau’n cyrraedd a’u gosod yn eu lle!

Cawsom syniad yn y stiwdio ddylunio rai wythnosau’n ôl a gofynnom am gyngor arbenigol Annette a Mary o’r adran Gadwraeth i asesu rhinweddau ein syniad.

“Beth os bydden ni’n gosod y cerrig mewn mowld sbwng ehangol? Fyddai ganddo afael digonol yn y cerflun ac a fyddai’n dal yr arddangosiad yn ei le?”

Cytunai Mary ac Annette na fyddai defnyddio deunydd cadwrol o safon uchel a rhoi maneg o ffilm bolythen am y garreg yn effeithio ar y garreg (mewn termau syml). Byddai’n gweithio!

Yn goron ar y cyfan, tarwyd ar y syniad o ychwanegu gorchudd ffabrig fel gorffeniad fyddai’n barod i’w arddangos. Gwnaed model cyflym a gweld yn syth ei fod yn gweithio’n wych!

Diolch i waith caled Mary ac Annette cafod y pennau eu gosod mewn blychau wedi’i paratoi ymlaen llaw mewn labordy diogel yn ddwfn yng nghrombil yr Amgueddfa. Torrwyd y gorffeniad ffabrig a cafodd y blychau a’r cerfluniau eu trosglwyddo i’r oriel i gael eu harddangos dan oleuadau arbennig.

Mae’r pennau bellach i’w gweld ochr y ochr ag eitemau mwy ar blinthau arbennig a rhai cerfiadau cywrain iawn mewn casys. Dyfeisiwyd dulliau arddangos clyfar ar gyfer pob cerflun er mwyn gwneud hon yn arddangosfa aruthrol fyddai’n ysbrydoli.

Rydyn ni gyd yn llawn cyffro wrth weld yr arddangosfa hon yn dod i fwcl a gobeithiwn y bydd y cyhoedd yn ei mwynhau hefyd.

Simon Tozzo, Dylunydd 3-D, Amgueddfa Cymru

Gwelwch mwy o luniau Dazu ar Flickr, cewch y newyddion diweddaraf am Dazu ar Facebook a dilynwch @museum_cardiff ar Twitter  #dazucymru

Mae Ionawr 26 yn ddiwrnod arbennig iawn yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd gydag agoriad swyddogol arddangosfa unigryw.

Mae O Lethrau Serth: Cerfiadau Carreg Hynafol o Dazu, Tsieina yn gasgliad o gerfluniau crefyddol Tsieineaidd prin o Safle Treftadaeth y Byd yn Dazu.

Mae’r cerflun cynharaf oll ar y safle yn dyddio o ganol y 7fed ganrif: cerfluniau prydferth sy’n dangos elfennau o gredoau Bwdhaidd, Taoaidd a Confuciaidd ac a ddaeth dan ddylanwad y tair crefydd.

Bydd yr arddangosfa yn cynnwys cerfluniau o’r 10fed a’r 13eg ganrif yn bennaf. Wrth gyfuno’r crefyddau eclectig yma, crëir ymdeimlad o harmoni ysbrydol hynod wreiddiol a daw hanes Tsieina’r cyfnod yn fyw.

Cafodd ymwelwyr eu gwahardd am flynyddoedd lawer tan 1961 a bu’n rhaid i ymwelwyr tramor aros tan 1980. Oherwydd hyn, maent mewn cyflwr arbennig er iddynt gael eu creu ganrifoedd yn ôl.

Tra bod nifer o’r cerfluniau mwyaf yn dal yn eu lle yng nghlogwyni a mynyddoedd Dazu, dyma’r tro cyntaf i’r cerfluniau haws eu trin adael tir Tsieina am y Gorllewin.

Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd fydd yr unig amgueddfa y tu allan i Tsieina i gynnal yr arddangosfa hynod hon sy’n rhoi golwg i bob ymwelydd ar gelfyddyd carreg hynafol a diwylliant Tsieineaidd.

 

Gwelwch mwy o luniau Dazu ar Flickr, cewch y newyddion diweddaraf am Dazu ar Facebook a dilynwch @museum_cardiff ar Twitter  #dazucymru

One of the most popular displays at the National Roman Legion Museum is a stone coffin that contains the skeleton of a Roman man. The coffin also contains the remains of grave goods that he would need for their next life, including the base of a shale bowl and fragments of a glass perfume or ointment bottle.

» See Part One

Step 17

[delwedd: Coffin Lid]

Now we turn our attention to the coffin lid.

Like the base it was broken by the digger. Here it is with all the fragments lined up ready to be joined. Some areas are missing, but the gaps will allow people to see inside the coffin when it is put back on display.

Step 18

[delwedd: Top of the lid]

The top of the lid looks so uneven and eroded because acid rain soaked into the soil has dissolved the limestone. This process eventually leads to the formation of limestone caves in nature. Solution holes, the start of mini ‘caves’, can be seen in the lid.

Step 19

[delwedd: Drilling the lid]

Adhesive alone may not be strong enough to keep the heavy fragments of stone together.

To help strengthen the bond, metal rods will be inserted across the join. Holes have to be drilled into the broken edges of the stone. This is a tense moment as any mistakes could cause further damage.

The stone could split or flake; we just don’t know how it will react to the drilling!

Step 20

[delwedd: Drilling the lid]

Thankfully all goes well and the drill makes light work of the task.

That pile of stone dust will also come in useful; we can mix it with the glue to help secure the rods.

Step 21

[delwedd: Dabbing paint]

Another hole now has to be drilled in the edge of the adjoining fragment; this must match up perfectly to allow the rod to fit across the break.

First stage is to dab paint thickly around the freshly drilled hole.

Step 22

[delwedd: Placing fragment]

The fragment is then placed in position and pressure applied.

This has to be done quickly before the paint blobs dry, but also with care as we don’t want paint smeared everywhere

Step 23

[delwedd: Imprint]

Success!

The paint has left a good imprint on the other fragment, so we know where to drill the second hole to fit the rod.

Step 24

[delwedd: Cutting metal rods]

The metal rods now have to be cut to the right length, about 7cm.

This was harder than we thought as the stainless steel is very tough. We had to stop several times as the blade kept heating up.

Only 6 more to go!

Step 25

[delwedd: Aligning the pieces]

With the metal rods in place within the join and epoxy glue applied, the two pieces are brought together.

Care is taken to align the edges before the two sections are held in place and the adhesive allowed to set.

Step 26

[delwedd: Stuck together]

All stuck together now.

Hopefully the metal dowels will give the extra strength required, especially as we have to move the lid from the workshop in the basement to the gallery upstairs, where at last it can be reunited with its base.

Unfortunately we have no lift....any ideas!

Step 27

[delwedd: The team]

The only option is good old fashioned man power just like the Romans!

Here some of the team (our modern day Roman slaves) take a well deserved break after bringing one of the coffin lid fragments up the stairs.

Step 28

[delwedd: Laying the skeleton out]

Before the lid is put in place the skeleton has to be laid out again. Being careful to get it right!

Unfortunately one item will be missing for a while and that’s the skull. This is needed for analysis as we try and find out more about the man buried in the coffin 1800 years ago.

Step 29

[delwedd: Perspex cover]

Once everything is in place a new Perspex cover can be installed to support the stone fragments of the lid.

The Perspex is only 1cm thick so hopefully it will be robust enough to take the weight of the solid Bath stone blocks.

Step 30

[delwedd: Installing the lid]

Now the tricky task of installing the lid begins.

Thankfully all goes well and the Perspex proves strong enough to take the weight.

At last, 15 years since its discovery, the lid is once more back where it belongs, on top of the coffin.

Although the lid partially obscures the contents of the coffin, new lights will be installed to help illuminate the interior.

Step 31

[delwedd: Skull]

The first phase of the redisplay is now complete, so in the second phase we turn our attention to the Skull.

Follow the blog as we attempt to learn more about the man buried in the coffin.

Where did he grow up and what did he look like?