Since the coronation there has been a flurry of articles about the discovery the Mellis brothers made on Dunsinane Hill in 1818. David Barclay Mellis (my 2nd great grandfather) was 18 and his two brothers James Mellis Nairne (the owner of Dunsinane) was 26.(Note: He added Nairne in order to inherit Dunsinane from his Nairne grandmother’s family) and Captain John Mellis was 20. You can imagine their youthful excitement!
The recent media interest is in a January 1819 article. As repeated in the recent media: “the curious stone has been shipped for London for the inspection of the scientific amateur in order to discover its real qualities.” And from that point it has disappeared. Possibly it still lies somewhere in London beneath some foundation or in a churchyard or perhaps it never left Scotland after all.” It is hard to say whether Archie McKerracher would have been pleased or not by the subsequent tracing of that “curious stone” to its present hiding place. The clue lay in a Reader’s Digest article, noticed by an alert Scot, one Bob Smith, who then contacted McKerracher about it but received no reply. The title of the article was ‘Mysteries of the British Museum’; it described a black, meteorite like stone with designed, metal plates attached to it, which lay, apparently, uncategorised in the museum basement.
The family has no record of the response from the BM. Are you aware of any conclusions?
Since the coronation there has been a flurry of articles about the discovery the Mellis brothers made on Dunsinane Hill in 1818. David Barclay Mellis (my 2nd great grandfather) was 18 and his two brothers James Mellis Nairne (the owner of Dunsinane) was 26.(Note: He added Nairne in order to inherit Dunsinane from his Nairne grandmother’s family) and Captain John Mellis was 20. You can imagine their youthful excitement!
The recent media interest is in a January 1819 article. As repeated in the recent media: “the curious stone has been shipped for London for the inspection of the scientific amateur in order to discover its real qualities.” And from that point it has disappeared. Possibly it still lies somewhere in London beneath some foundation or in a churchyard or perhaps it never left Scotland after all.” It is hard to say whether Archie McKerracher would have been pleased or not by the subsequent tracing of that “curious stone” to its present hiding place. The clue lay in a Reader’s Digest article, noticed by an alert Scot, one Bob Smith, who then contacted McKerracher about it but received no reply. The title of the article was ‘Mysteries of the British Museum’; it described a black, meteorite like stone with designed, metal plates attached to it, which lay, apparently, uncategorised in the museum basement.
The family has no record of the response from the BM. Are you aware of any conclusions?
All the best:
Richard
Col (Ret’d) R.D.B. Talbot C.D., P.J.M.
Former Honorary Colonel & Commanding Officer
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s)
Invicta Cottage, 2430 Whidbey Lane
Sidney, Victoria, British Columbia
CANADA, V8L 2K3
Home: 778-426-4355
Cell: 250-580-4401
Email: talbot@talbotconsultants.com
Brilliant
Thank you, Nuala
Enjoyed very much, now I'll go for a wee sleep on Jacobs pillow 😉
Enjoy. Thanks very much.
Excellent.
Thanks very much