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These enchanting ivory figures – an anxious king, a pious bishop, glum warriors – were made by Viking invaders in the 12th century.

Reliquaries were containers for storing holy relics. This one is linked to St Columba and Robert the Bruce, hero of Bannock-burn (see Battle of Bannockburn & Bannockburn Heritage Centre) . It dates back to the 8th century, and although it’s tiny, the craftsmanship is exceptional. It is one of the museum’s most prized possessions.

Serving as a badge of office, this curved handle was once mounted on a staff carried by St Fillan, an 8th-century Irish monk, active in Perthshire. The filigree ornamentation exemplifies the level of artistry flourishing 1,200 years ago.

A grizzly relic to put a shiver down your spine. The Maiden was a Scottish beheading machine, similar to the French guillotine, with a weighted blade that descended from on high. It was used in the 16th century.

The Prince’s cutlery, corkscrew, bottles, cup, and condiments set. Picture the fugitive (see Isle of Skye) in the wild with this lustruous travelling canteen.

The blue whale skeleton is an ever-popular exhibit, while a glance at the poor dodo shows it to have been, not plump and lazy, but rather athletic, in fact.

The collection of an Edinburgh typist, who spent her lunch breaks browsing for trinkets of glass, shell and plastic.

It makes you realize how little in the world is new. This pull-along mouse is moulded from brown clay with a stick for a tail. As it moves, the underjaw pivots on pegs and “snaps”, while the tail wags from side to side. A treasured toy, and a mere 3,500 years old.

Mummy cases , or cartonnages, were made of linen reinforced with resin or plaster and used to contain the embalmed body. Those on display have individually crafted faces and are decorated with ancient Egypt’s complex symbolism of death and the afterlife. The cases themselves have already survived 3,000 years.

The Royal Museum first opened in 1866 and has been a city landmark ever since. Its cavernous interior and marvellous roof create an extraordinary feeling of light and space. The Museum of Scotland was a custom-built adjunct and has been heralded as one of the most important buildings constructed in post-war Scotland.