Strandline - secrets of the seashore

Myths and folklore

Myths & Folklore
Myths and folklore are often the result of early cultures attempting to explain the world around them. Much of the ocean's watery realm is hidden beneath the surface and has always been a source of mysteries. The remains of animals cast ashore helped to support the existence of mythical creatures, including mermaids, the kraken and unicorn. In fact, even today we still refer to ray and dogfish egg cases as mermaid's purses. However, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction - as you will see through this part of the exhibition.

Myths or reality?
Many people still believe in sea monsters, and there are often reports of strange creatures in our seas or washed up onto our beaches. These dead remains on a French beach were thought to be those of a long extinct marine reptile. On closer analysis they turned out to be the remains of a dead basking shark. Science has been able to explain most of these mysteries. However, large animal species have been discovered for the first time. The first live coelacanth was discovered in South Africa in 1938. The coelacanth is from a group of fish thought to have died out 70 million years ago. In 1976, a new species of shark was discovered, the Megamouth Shark. This shark, unlike any other living shark, can grow to 5 metres in length. Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered in water and most is hidden from our view. New animals are almost certainly yet to be discovered. Maybe not the animals from myths and legends, but creatures just as bizarre and fascinating.

The Unicorn
Unicorns are probably the best known of all the 'mythical' creatures. They appear in the myths and folklore of many cultures around the world. People carried on believing in unicorns long after it was proved that dragons and many other fabulous creatures did not exist. People's belief in unicorns was supported by the physical evidence of the unicorn's horn. The horn was in fact the tusk from an unusual type of whale: the narwhal.

Narwhal
Narwhal whales reach about 5 metres in length. The males of this species (and an occasional female) have a single spiral tusk that can measure up to 2.7 m in length. That is about the length of the real tusk used in the painting (some of it is hidden behind the image). No-one knows for sure why the males have this horn. Narwhals have been seen jousting together, but it is not known if these are serious fights. Many cathedrals across Europe had whole 'unicorn horns' on public display. Water in which the horn had been dipped was given away to the poor as free medicine because of the unicorn horn's fabled ability to drive out poisons. In 1994 a horn was auctioned at Christie's in London for nearly half a million pounds. Its value most likely came from its historical importance.

Narwhal

Orange areas show distribution

Magic Fossils
Fossil remains of sea creatures are sometimes found washed up onto the beach. Some of these fossils feature in magical folklore. The fossil remains of echinoderms (sea urchins) are often found on pebble beaches. These are known as shepherd's crown and were collected by witches who believed them to possess magical powers. They thought that the five lines across the stone represented the five points of the pentagram, a strong magic symbol.

Cylindrical bullet-shaped fossil remains from the squid-like belemnite were commonly believed throughout Europe to have been created when lightning hit the ground and turned to stone. Possessing one was believed to protect the bearer or their home from being struck by lightning. The distinctive coiling of the shells of fossil ammonites was thought to be snakes that had been turned to stone, usually by religious figures. Some cultures prized them for medicinal properties.

Goose tree
Goose barnacles often attach themselves to the bottom of boats and any floating object. They are sometimes washed up onto the strandline attached to bottles, plastic floats or drift wood. The feathery limbs extended while feeding on plankton resemble a goose wing.

This is probably the source of the mythical goose tree. It was thought that a type of goose grew on trees and then dropped into the water.

Mermaid - Merman
This strange 'creature' is said to be a mermaid, or more correctly in this case, a merman as it has only two nipples, whilst mermaids have more. The body is crafted from a fish whilst the head possibly includes the head of a young monkey but has fish teeth. The fingers seem to be moulded around wire. It is probably a tribal 'fetish' object, possible a river god and is of SE Asian origin. Victorian travellers obtained these and exhibited them as in Britain 'mermaids'.

Tropical Drift Seeds
Many plants living by the sea in the tropics drop their seeds into the sea or onto the beach where they are swept away by the waves. The seeds they produce are quite remarkable because they can survive months or even years drifting at sea. They are very buoyant, with thick protective shells that are impervious to salt water. During their long voyages they often cross entire oceans, perhaps colonising the shores of a coral atoll or isolated volcanic island or even reaching here.

Sea gods
The existence of a sea god that ruled the waves was an early attempt to explain the many states of the sea. When the sea was calm, sea food could be harvested by coastal villagers.
When the sea was rough, the sea god was angry and sometimes sacrifices where made so that the sea would be calm and the village would catch enough food to survive.
Neptune was the Roman god of the sea and Poseidon was the Greek god. Statues of these sea gods can still be seen in many towns and cities around the world