Normally the fascination relating to fossils stems from the palaeontologist field of T-Rex bones and Pterodactyl skulls.
But the fossil of a tree, the Pitys withamii, that predates the time of the dinosaurs, has begun to wow visitors to the National History Museum after it was moved from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh last year for research purposes.
It is not widely known that Edinburgh is home to one of the world's oldest trees which was discovered during excavations at the Craigleith quarry in the 19th century - the now site of Craigleith retail park.
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The tree is understood to weigh 10-tons and is 10.5 metres in length and is an unbelievable 330 million years old.
Dinosaurs were understood to have first appeared around 240 million years ago.
Considered one of the world’s most ancient trees, Pitys withamii lived during the Earth’s Carboniferous period, growing in Scotland which was then a tropical, swampy forest.
According to the RBGE website, the Craigleith tree was one of seven fossil trees discovered in Craigleith Quarry during the 19th century.
It is believed to have been excavated in 1830, and was considered by scientists at the time to be a type of conifer, but they soon discovered that it was from an extinct group of plants known as seed ferns -pteridosperm.
The quarry was used to produce sandstone for building materials across Scotland's capital, with the site being in use for over 300 years.
The RBGE also noted that the sandstone from the quarry was used to construct elements of Edinburgh Castle around the year of 1615 and for the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
They say on their website that: “It provided most of the stone for prestigious buildings in Edinburgh’s New Town, including Register House, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh University’s Old College as well as the National Monument on Calton Hill. The quarry was infilled in 1995 and is now the site of the Craigleith Retail Park.”
They added: “As the fossil remains are of the tree trunk only and completely stripped of branches, roots and bark, expert assessment is that it was torn from the ground by flooding then borne by water to its resting place in Craigleith Quarry.
“The fossil was excavated in several sections and initially, part went to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the rest to the then Natural History Museum of the University of Edinburgh. This latter part was moved to the newly established National Museum of Scotland in 1869 before it was finally reunited with the rest of the tree at RBGE in 1873 or 1874.
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“It was originally displayed in front of RBGE’s Herbarium, then in the Caledonian Hall, but was moved several times before being installed at the fossil lawn in 1991.
“Another piece of fossil tree dug from Craigleith Quarry was sculpted to create a poignant and unusual memorial. Located to the west of RBGE’s beech hedge sits a lump of red stone with a small bird bath on top.
"The inscription commemorates four sisters who loved RBGE and its birds and was designed by Sir Frank Mears, son-in-law of Sir Patrick Geddes. The memorial was installed in October 1946.”
As part of the Edinburgh Biomes project, Nigel Larking, who is a Conservator at Natural History, will be examining each section of the tree to discover its ancient secrets at the National History Museum in London.
After the examination, the process of preserving the fossil will begin.
The tree was a landmark in the Botanic Garden for around 190 years before it was moved.
The fossil tree will return to the Garden in late 2027 towards the end of the Edinburgh Biomes project.
