Jonathan
Amos
Science correspondent
8 March 2017
One of the true "rock
stars" of the fossil world is going on tour for the first time.
London's Natural History Museum has sent
its specimen of Archaeopteryx - the so-called "first bird" - to
Japan.
It is travelling in Asia with
nearly 300 other treasures from the South Kensington institution's collections.
The limestone slabs that contain
the bones of this pivotal creature on the evolutionary line from dinosaurs to
birds are considered priceless.
They are also very delicate. But
museum officials are satisfied the iconic fossil will come to no harm.
"The scary thing is that it
contains parts that are only one or two millimetres in depth, and so for me
going to Tokyo with it is a bit challenging," concedes Lorraine Cornish,
the head of conservation at the NHM.
"But we're doing some
exciting touring exhibitions - putting ourselves out there to promote our
collections. And if you're going to do an exhibition about the 'treasures of
the Natural History Museum' then you kind of have to include this fossil
because it really is a treasure."
Purchased in 1863 for £700 from
Germany, where it was unearthed, the fossil was kept initially at the British
Museum before being moved to the NHM when it opened in 1881. It has not been
out of the building since - until now.
The fossil is referred to by
experts simply as the "London Specimen".
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