326 – Belemnites: Fossils or ‘sea stones’
- Physical description:
- 5 belemnites - slender conical fossils, grey-brown in colour.
- Museum classification:
- Divination
- Size:
- 53, 73, 80, 90, 90mm
- Information:
Original text by Cecil Williamson: "A small collection of belemnites, being a common fossil occurring in Mesozoic rocks. Consisting of the hard part of an extinct marine animal, similar to the squid. Once the pride and joy, not to mention money spinner, of Nancy of Newlyn. With her sea stones, as she called them, she made predictions for the fishermen of Newlyn. At the turn of the century, it was a commonplace to hear people in Newlyn say, "well go and ask old Nancy - she will give you a straight answer.""
The Lovett Collection in the Cuming Museum includes a belemnite, which according to Edward Lovett was believed to be a thunderbolt fallen to earth, and therefore to protect against lightning. Scarborough Museum also has a similar belemnite lightning protection charm, collected in Dorset in 1912 (see Tabitha Cadbury's report 'The Clarke Collection of Charms and Amulets' in the museum library).- Resource:
- Object
- Materials:
- Stone
- Copyright ownership:
- Copyright to The Museum of Witchcraft Ltd.
Original text by Cecil Williamson: "A small collection of belemnites, being a common fossil occurring in Mesozoic rocks. Consisting of the hard part of an extinct marine animal, similar to the squid. Once the pride and joy, not to mention money spinner, of Nancy of Newlyn. With her sea stones, as she called them, she made predictions for the fishermen of Newlyn. At the turn of the century, it was a commonplace to hear people in Newlyn say, "well go and ask old Nancy - she will give you a straight answer.""
The Lovett Collection in the Cuming Museum includes a belemnite, which according to Edward Lovett was believed to be a thunderbolt fallen to earth, and therefore to protect against lightning. Scarborough Museum also has a similar belemnite lightning protection charm, collected in Dorset in 1912 (see Tabitha Cadbury's report 'The Clarke Collection of Charms and Amulets' in the museum library).