Latest news with #MoysesHallMuseum
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
World's first replica of toothless dinosaur on display in Suffolk
The world's first accurate sculpture of a recently documented toothless dinosaur has gone on display. Remains of the Berthasaura leopoldinae were first discovered in Brazil in 2012 and publicly revealed by scientists in part of a wider exhibition, West Suffolk Council's Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, said it was now the first to display an accurate replica of the dinosaur's Pritchard, 31, from Torquay, Cornwall is the sculptor and paleoartist behind the replica and said it had been a "bizarre" but "wonderful" feeling to know he was the first one in the world to bring it to life. "It's a bit bizarre because when the paper was [published] they usually commission an artist to do a skeletal drawing and an illustrator to imagine what the dinosaur would look like, but no one had brought it into the 3D realm," he explained."So it's really weird bringing it to life because it's such a weird looking dinosaur that no one had seen... it's a really bizarre feeling, but wonderful at the same time." Scientists believe the Berthasaura leopoldinae lived approximately 80 to 70 million years ago and was part of the Ceratosauria is considered to be unique due to being toothless and having a parrot-like beak, despite its carnivore-shaped body."It was discovered in 2012, but it takes a long time to do what they call a description where they study every bone they have found to try and piece together what type of animal it was and how it lived," Mr Pritchard continued."Once they've got enough information they can go to the scientific community, release a paper and say, 'We have discovered a new animal, we've discovered all these things about it, and this is why it is different from other things'." Mr Pritchard explained he made use of the research papers to recreate the dinosaur which was time-consuming to ensure it was well as this, not all parts of the dinosaur had been found, so Mr Pritchard had to look at papers for other dinosaurs and animals scientists believe were related to dinosaur features as part of the museum's Prehistoric Beasts: Land, Sea, Sky exhibition which is running until Pritchard is also donating another replica of the dinosaur to a Brazilian museum that was involved in the discovery of it but later burnt down. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
She Vanished After Meeting Her Lover. A Stepmother's Dream Led to Her Body — and the Killer
Curators at Moyse's Hall Museum in Suffolk, England, found that a book on their office shelf was bound in the skin of William Corder, a 19th-century murderer Maria Marten's remains were discovered nearly a year after she vanished, following a dream her stepmother had about her death Corder confessed and was executed in front of a crowd of thousandsIt was a skin-crawling revelation. Staff at a museum in Suffolk, England, recently learned that an unassuming old book sitting in their office was actually made from human skin — believed to be that of a 19th-century murderer who was hanged nearly 200 years ago. The killer, William Corder, was convicted in 1828 of murdering a woman named Maria Marten in what became known as the Red Barn Murder. According to the BBC, the book was donated decades ago by a family member of the surgeon who anatomized Corder's body. Curators at Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St. Edmunds realized what the book was — and how it was made — about a month ago. It's now on display. Corder was from a middle-class family of farmers and lived in the village of Polstead when he met Marten when he was 22. The two subsequently became lovers, per the outlet. In 1827 Corder came up with a plan for him and Marten to elope. He told her to meet him at the Red Barn on the Corders' farm so they could run away together. But Marten was never seen again. Corder swiftly left Suffolk and wrote to the Marten family that he and Maria had eloped. In reality, he was hiding out just outside of London after shooting Maria in the neck and burying her at the Red Barn. Almost a year later, Maria's stepmother, Ann Marten, had a dream that Maria was dead and at the Red Barn. Per the outlet, Maria's father dug with his 'mole spud' — a type of spade — and found Maria's remains at the barn. A manhunt ensued for Corder. When authorities found him, he denied any knowledge of what had happened to Maria. But he had a letter in his possession informing him that her body had been found. Corder was tried on 10 counts of murder, each based on a different theory on how Maria was killed, the BBC reported. Corder initially claimed Maria had died by suicide, but he was ultimately found guilty after a two-day trial, which included a confession in which Corder said he accidentally shot Maria during an BBC reported that an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 people came to see Corder hanged outside the prison on Aug. 11, 1828. There are currently two books about the trial — both of which are bound with Corder's skin, the BBC reported. Popular Mechanics reports that the practice of binding books in human skin — known as anthropodermic bibliopegy — dates back to at least the 13th century. By the 19th century, some doctors were using the skin of their own dissected patients to bind medical texts. According to The Times, Corder's skeleton remained at London's Hunterian Museum for more than 70 years — until it was released in 2004 following a campaign by a relative who had researched her family tree. Subsequently, Corder's remains were cremated. Read the original article on People
