Specimen Preparation: Sheep Skull 🐑

This sheep skull was discovered by a friend in their neighbour's farm field in Wales, providing me with valuable hands-on practice in larger mammal skull preparation and cleaning techniques. This hands-on process of attention to detail in bone cleaning gave me crucial insight into conservation and preservation standards required for collections management.

The project represented a significant step up from smaller specimens, requiring adapted techniques for larger bone structures and more complex cleaning procedures. Working with this skull allowed me to refine my approach to systematic specimen preparation while building confidence in handling substantial natural history specimens.

🧰 Materials and Equipment:

• 💀 Sheep skull specimen (discovered in Welsh farm field)

• 🧼 Hot water and soap solutions for degreasing

• 🪥 Toothbrushes and scrubbing tools

• 🧻 Paper towels (for drying during and after cleaning)

• ⏳ Drying time: at least 24 hours

• 🍶 70% alcohol-water solution for whitening

• 🫙 Soaking containers and cleaning equipment

• 🧤 Safety equipment for specimen handling

⚙️ Preparation Process:

Step One: Degreasing and Sterilisation -

• 🫧 Initial Soaking – Soaked specimen overnight in hot water with soap to degrease and sterilise

• 🪥 Primary Scrubbing – Scrubbed thoroughly with toothbrush to remove residue and debris

Step Two: Deep Cleaning -

• 🧽 Manual Preparation – Carefully picked off remaining loose skin and tissue

• 🫧 Secondary Soaking – Soaked overnight again with soap and water solutions

• 🪥 Final Scrubbing – Continued systematic scrubbing for clean, professional finish

Step Three: Whitening Process -

• 🤍 Chemical Whitening – Soaked twice overnight in 70% alcohol-water solution for even whitening

Clean Ewe Sheep Skull.

Ewe Sheep Skull - Llanidloes, Wales - August 2022

💀 Sheep Skull Cleaning Process Video 💀

Key Skills Developed:

• 🔬 Technical Laboratory Skills – Large specimen handling techniques, multi-stage degreasing protocols, chemical whitening with alcohol-water solutions, and progressive cleaning methodology

• 🔍 Specimen Analysis – Size-adapted techniques for larger specimens, applying museum-standard quality control, process documentation for reproducibility, and ongoing condition evaluation

• 👐 Conservation & Preservation – Odour prevention through thorough degreasing, long-term preservation planning, achieving professional finishing standards, and maintaining specimen stability

• 🏛️ Museum-Relevant Skills – Aligning methods with professional collections care standards, preventive conservation awareness, careful object handling protocols, and preparing exhibition-ready specimens

• 🧩 Problem-Solving – Adapting methods for large-scale cleaning, addressing residue persistence challenges, and improvising solutions with limited resources

• 💪 Professional Skills – Building confidence with substantial specimens, patience through multi-day processes, technique refinement through practice, and maintaining safety protocols

This project significantly enhanced my specimen preparation capabilities, demonstrating skills directly applicable to natural history museum collections, archaeological laboratories, and conservation work. The systematic approach to larger specimen cleaning reflects the methodical standards required for professional collections management and scientific specimen curation.

💀 See more on my Instagram: @BonesByShannon 🪲

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