THE MUSEUM
Welcome to Collectors Cabin Museum.
This is a small part of our private collection.
Every specimen in the Museum has been carefully curated for its rarity, provenance, and connection to History. By sharing these treasures, we hope to inspire collectors of all ages, spark curiosity, and highlight the passion and care that goes into curating a collection that’s both educational and visually striking.
With numerous items originating from the Dufftown collectors' cabin, along with specimens from the founder David's personal collection, showcasing over 50 years of passion- most pieces in this collection are more than just items, they are part of Collectors' Cabin's history.
While these pieces remain in the Museum, the same dedication to quality, education and authenticity guides everything available in our shop.
(The museum page is still under construction- we have a lot of specimens to catalogue and add.)--- However feel free to have a look, as we are constantly adding interesting items!
PART 1: Fossil exhibition-
Trace Fossils:
Permian reptile 'Cheilichnus' trackway in sandstone.
Pre-dating the dinosaurs, we find this specimen quite impressive, it shows a clear direction of travel, along with claw/ scratch marks and natural sediment displacement and backflow, created as the ancient substrate (most likely a shallow beach) collapsed backwards under the weight of the animal.
USA.
Late Permian.
C.~ 230 million years old
Theropod Dinosaur footprints
Two finely preserved natural foot-casts from early Jurassic theropod dinosaurs- a carnivorous herding predator whos tracks have been found only in Canada, USA and Europe.
Both incredibly detailed, with specimen 2 clearly displaying claws!
Portland Formation, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA
Early Jurassic.
C.~200–190 million years old
Specimen 1:
Roman tile with dog footprint-
Originating from Roman Londinium, this tile fragment was found in the River Thames. It gives a fascinating window into Roman occupation in Britain nearly 2000 years ago.
Although technically not a fossil, it completes the first section with a journey of footsteps over nearly 300 million years.
C.~ 1st-3rd century AD
Ice Age Fossils:
Wooly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) Tusk bark:
Tusk bark section, purchased as a child from David at Collectors cabin, Dufftown, over 15 years ago.
One of my longest owned fossils, and still on display today.
Pleistocene-epoch.
C.~30,000-50,000 years old
Majority tusk section, professionally preserved- no restoration,
Ice age deposits, Mannheim, Germany.
Pleistocene-epoch.
C.~30,000-50,000 years old.
This fragmentary vertebra originates from a Pleistocene-era mammoth, a member of the genus Mammuthus, the iconic Ice Age proboscideans that roamed Europe, Asia, and North America. Mammoths were among the largest terrestrial mammals of their time, with complex skeletal structures adapted to support their immense size.
The specimen exhibits the characteristic porous texture of cancellous bone, a spongy internal structure that allowed these giant creatures’ vertebrae to bear tremendous weight while remaining relatively lightweight. Such features offer valuable insight into the biomechanics and physiology of Ice Age megafauna.
Pleistocene-epoch.
C.~30,000-1,000,000 years old.
Plant Fossils:
Seed Fern (sp. Pecopteris)
Fossilized leaf of a Carboniferous seed fern, preserved in absolutely remarkable detail. Over 300 million years old, it captures the intricate veining, texture and leaf structure of these ancient swamp forest plants.
Mazon Creek, Illinois, USA
Carboniferous period.
C.~300 million years old.
Seal tree (sp. Sigillaria)
Fossilized trunk impression of the extinct Seal Tree (Sigillaria), showing small circular leaf scars arranged in a natural pattern along the bark. Preserved over 300 million years, these markings capture the structure of this Carboniferous forest giant that thrived before the dinosaurs.
Lower Pennsylvanian, Strawn group, Millsap Lake Foundation, Palo Pinto County, Texas, USA.
Carboniferous Period.
C. ~300 million years old
Stigmaria (Lycopsid Root Fossil)
A section of Stigmaria, the branching root system of lycopsid trees such as Sigillaria. The round, thick cylindrical fossil displays the characteristic circular rootlet scars, which anchored the tree in ancient coal-forming swamps. Stigmaria fossils provide a unique glimpse into the underground structures of some of the tallest plants of the Carboniferous forests.
Yorkshire Coal Measures, England
Carboniferous Period,
C. 300 million years ago
Petrified reed- sp. Calamites. USA.
Petrified stem of a giant Carboniferous reed (Calamites), preserved in great detail with its segmented, ribbed structure. Over 300 million years old, it represents one of the towering plants that thrived in ancient swamp forests of todays America.
Graham Formation, Cisco Group, Young County, Texas, USA.
Late Carboniferous.
C.~305–298 million years ago.
Petrified reed- sp. Calamites (Horsetail Fossil). UK.
Another fossilized section of Calamites, This fossil preserves a sizeable length of the segmented stem structure, characteristic of these ancient plants, which could grow over 20 meters tall in swampy coal forests. Its ribbed, jointed form provides insight into the growth patterns of some of the Earth’s earliest forest giants.
Yorkshire Coal Measures, England,
Carboniferous-Permian Period.
C. 300 million years ago
Trilobites sp. Phacops
Wenlock shale,
Horderley, Shropshire.
These specimens of Phacops trilobites come from the Wenlock Shale of Horderley, a site renowned for its Silurian fossils (~430 million years old). Trilobites were marine arthropods that thrived in the ancient seas, leaving behind not only their distinctive shells but sometimes the tracks of their movements across the seafloor.
These fossils capture a glimpse of Silurian marine life, offering both the form of these ancient creatures and evidence of their activity, preserving a moment in deep time.
Silurian Period.
C~430 million years old (pretty old)
Trilobites sp. Onnia Gracilis:
Builth Wells, Radnorshire, Wales
These impressions of the cephalon (head) and pygidium (tail) of Onnia gracilis come from the Caradoc beds of Builth Wells, a classic British Ordovician locality. Onnia was a marine trilobite that lived on the ancient sea floor over 450 million years ago, long before dinosaurs or even land plants evolved.
Preserved as natural prints in shale, this specimen offers a rare glimpse into one of the earliest complex marine ecosystems of the Paleozoic era. It connects us directly to a time when Wales lay beneath a warm, tropical ocean teeming with trilobites and other early marine life.
Ordovician period, Caradoc series
C.~450 million years ago (even older!)
Fossil Starfish mortality bed (Sinosura kelheimense):
Solnhofen Limestone, Heinheim, Germany
Collected: November 2009
This exceptionally preserved fossil starfish bed originates from the world-renowned Solnhofen Limestone of southern Germany, a deposit celebrated for its remarkable conservation of delicate marine life. During the Late Jurassic, the region was a shallow, tropical lagoon, allowing for fine sedimentation that preserved fragile organisms in extraordinary detail.
The Sinosura kelheimense displays its pentaradial symmetry and subtle surface textures, offering a rare glimpse into the anatomy of Jurassic echinoderms.
Part 2- Crystals and Minerals exhibition:
Botryoidal Malachite with Chrysocolla:
Rounded, grape-like (botryoidal) formations of vibrant green malachite, interspersed with rich blue-green chrysocolla. Featuring delicate coarse and velvety surfaces, with subtle textural variations that catch light beautifully.
Formed through secondary mineralization in copper-rich deposits.
Congo.
Brazilian Amethyst Cathedral:
This stunning amethyst cathedral showcases the rich purple hues and crystalline clarity for which Brazilian amethysts are renowned. Measuring impressively in size, the piece exhibits well-formed, large, lustrous crystals nestled within the natural cave like formation, creating the towering cathedral-like aesthetic that gives them their trade name.
Remarkably, the base of the specimen exhibits a natural formation uncannily resembling Sugarloaf Mountain, a striking example of how geological processes can echo the shapes of landscapes in miniature. The intricate interplay of crystal growth, mineral zoning, and natural formation processes has produced a very visually dramatic piece .
Brazil,
Cenozoic Era
C.~50–70 million years old
