News

Two unique Jurassic fossil discoveries from the Isle of Skye have shown that mammals in the time of the dinosaurs grew more slowly and lived longer than mammals today. 

An international team of scientists have described new fossils of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis - a five-metre-long aquatic reptile from the Triassic period of China, dating to around 240 million years old.  

An exceptionally rare piece of Roman armour from National Museums Scotland’s collection has been painstakingly reconstructed from dozens of fragments. Dating from the middle of the second century, the brass arm guard will be seen in its entirety for the first time in almost 2000 years when it goes on loan to the British Museum for the major exhibition Legion: life in the Roman army next month.

A new study of a whale which stranded off the Pembrokeshire coast in 2012 has revealed it to be the first short-finned pilot whale ever to be found in British waters.  

A rare embroidery dating from the early seventeenth century has been acquired by National Museums Scotland. The exquisite textile has been acquired with the support of textile collector and philanthropist Leslie B. Durst and coincides with the announcement of three Leslie B. Durst Textile Conservation Internships.

A rare rock crystal jar found wrapped in textiles as part of the Galloway Hoard has been conserved, revealing a Latin inscription written in gold. The inscription says the jar was made for a bishop named Hyguald.

A series of oak armorial panels from a house inhabited by Mary Queen of Scots’s mother Marie de Guise, Regent of Scotland and wife of James V, have been acquired and conserved by National Museums Scotland. The announcement coincides with the birth date of Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542).