Collections
Explore our collections, find out about our current research projects and opportunities, contact our curatorial staff, and discover how to access the collections for research.
Research
Research is crucial to our stewardship of the national collections and to the intellectual development of subject knowledge.
Departments
Our staff hold a wealth of knowledge and expertise across the diversity of our collections.
Facilities
We provide advice, assistance, and support to those wishing to research the national collections.
How we collect
Contemporary collecting has been core to the development of the National Collections over the last two centuries.
National Museums Collection Centre
We offer a range of research facilities at our Collection Centre in Granton.
Discover the stories of our remarkable objects
Sacrifice or scrap? The Bronze Age weapons from Duddingston Loch
Archaeology
Written by Dr Matthew Knight
Why was a 3000-year-old hoard of objects deliberately destroyed and sunk into a loch in Edinburgh?
Forging a path - Scotland's iron industry
Science and technology, Scotland
Written by Georgina Grant
In July 2025 one of the last iron foundries in Scotland closed its doors. Ballantine Castings Ltd, based in Bo’ness, had been in operation for 200 years. The foundry supplied decorative, architectural and engineering ironwork across…
What is the Blyth Hoard?
Archaeology, Scotland
Written by Dr Matthew Knight
A unique discovery from the Scottish Borders is shedding new light on the making of Bronze Age objects in Scotland.
Fan favourites: 5 decorative souvenir fans
Art and design, Fashion and textiles
Written by Dr Emily Taylor & Carys Wilkins
Hand-held folding fans are a lightweight portable accessory. Although their practical function is to keep you cool, the decoration and materials used to make fans communicate much, much more.Fans make ideal souvenirs, intended to be…
A Viking Age boatyard on Eigg
Archaeology
Written by Dr Adrián Maldonado
Two oak boat stems dating to 880-1050 AD from the isle of Eigg show the arrival of Scandinavian seafaring technology to Scotland.These rare survivals reveal how the Viking Age forever changed Scotland's seaways.Vikings and the seaWe tend…
'The world opened up to us’: Collecting American-Scottish Cold War experiences in Dunoon, Scotland
History and cultures, Scotland
Written by Dr Sarah Harper & Dr Mhairi Maxwell
The Cold War in Scotland forged new bonds between Scottish and American communities. As testimonies of veterans and Dunoon locals tell us, the conflict brought different cultures together and had a lasting impact on the town and its…
Scotland in the time of Giants
Natural world, Scotland
Written by Dr Sarah Stewart
Following the extinction of dinosaurs and other animals such as marine reptiles 66 million years ago, smaller surviving animals evolved, and some became giants.
A 1000-year-old star catcher
Science and technology
Written by Dr Rebekah Higgitt
This astrolabe was made by Muhammad ibn al-Ṣaffār in Córdoba in Al-Andalus (now Spain) during the period of Umayyad rule. It dates to the year 417 in the Islamic lunar calendar, which equates to 22 February 1026 to 10 February 1027 CE.This…
6 highlights from our library
Art and design, History and cultures
Written by Morven Donald
Founded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the library at National Museum Scotland received its first book in 1781 – which is still on our shelves. Over the past 234 years, the library has gathered a wide-ranging and often…
'I am yours': 11 Scottish posy rings
History and cultures, Scotland
Written by Dr Georgia Vullinghs
Posy rings are some of the most evocative objects of love in National Museums Scotland's collections. These finger rings are named for the short inscriptions engraved on the inside of their band.
Inspiring women: Helen Monro Turner
Art and design
Written by Sarah Rothwell
Helen Monro Turner (1901 – 1977) was a distinguished Scottish glass engraver, designer, educator, and illustrator. An important figure in the development of glass art, Monro Turner was an early role model for women working in glass, and…
Footwear lost and found
Fashion and textiles
Written by Dr Emily Taylor
In the National Museums Scotland European footwear collections, there is a small but vital group of items that have been found in different places across Scotland and London. To understand why they are important aspects of British culture,…
The Roaring Game: Scotland's curling stone island
Natural world
Written by Dr Bob Gooday
Did you know that all curling stones are quarried on a small, uninhabited island in the Firth of Clyde called Ailsa Craig?
The material lives of ordinary people: rare 19th century Chinese cotton
Fashion and textiles, History and cultures
Written by Dr Rachel Silberstein
When you think of historical Chinese dress, what material comes to mind? Most people would probably assume silk. But the majority of the population in Qing dynasty China (1644-1911) actually wore cotton.However, this reality is not…
6 world-class type specimens in our stores
Natural world
Written by Professor Andrew Kitchener, Dr Rachel Walcott & Dr Andrew Ross
Type specimens are among the most important objects in natural science collections. They are the specimens on which the scientific names of species of animals, plants or minerals are based. Animals and plants are named using the Linnaean…
A tale of 3 sticks and their stories about rural Scotland
Scotland
Written by Oliver Taylor
What connects three ordinary looking sticks at the National Museum of Rural Life?At first glance, you may disregard one, or even all of them. However, their unassuming nature hides their significance. A poacher's fishing rod
Souvenirs of service: Mementoes from the First and Second World Wars
Scotland
Written by Dr Julie Holder
We all collect souvenirs throughout our lives connected to different people, places and events. These objects were collected as souvenirs of service in both the First and Second World Wars.
A history of ancient Egyptian shabtis in 11 figures
History and cultures
Written by Dr Daniel Potter
Ancient Egyptian shabtis will be familiar to many museum-goers. Their iconic shape, portable size, and variety made them highly collectable in the 19th and 20th centuries.Shabtis are one of the few types of ancient Egyptian objects that…
What's in a firework? Minerals that bang
Natural world
Written by Emily Brown
So, you light a firework, you stand back and WHOOSH, off it shoots into the air. A few seconds wait and then BOOM, the firework explodes in a shower of coloured sparkles raining down from the sky. To get this sequence of events, you need…
Fit for a Feast: intricate carved bowls from Lou Island
History and cultures
Written by Dr Ali Clark
This large wooden bowl is from Lou Island, part of the Admiralty Islands. Used for large feasts it is the most distinctive type of carved bowl from the area due to its decorative carved handles.
Congreve rolling ball clock: Zigzagging through time
Science and technology
Discover a fascinating yet temperamental clock that keeps time in an unconventional way, and learn how our former Conservator of Technology, Darren Cox, worked tirelessly to improve its accuracy.This mechanical clock was built in 1804. At…
Napier's bones: The logarithmic genius who revolutionised calculations
Science and technology
Written by Dr Tacye Phillipson
Find out how this brilliant Scottish mathematician and occultist invented a method of calculation that accelerated scientific discovery.In 1614, Edinburgh-born Renaissance scholar John Napier (1550-1617) invented logarithms. A means of…
Excavating medieval Eilean Donan / A’ cladhach Eilean Donnain Meadhan-aoiseil
Archaeology, Scotland
Written by Dr Alice Blackwell
Excavations have revealed fascinating insights into the people who lived and worked at medieval Eilean Donan.
Abernethy Pearl: Scotland's largest freshwater pearl
Natural world, Scotland
Written by Dr Rachel Walcott
In 1967, Bill Abernethy was pearl fishing near the River Tay when he came across his rarest and greatest discovery. At a weight of 43.6 grains, the Abernethy Pearl is the largest freshwater pearl found in Scotland in modern history.
