Photo: more than 300 people who contributed to the project gathered in Cardiff earlier this week to celebrate its completion.

It might take a journey of hundreds of miles and many years to view the thousands of cultural and historical gems held in the museums and galleries of Wales.

But thanks to the recently completed Gathering The Jewels digitisation project, 20,000 artefacts from the nation’s museums can be viewed in one place, free of charge.

With the initial digitisation now complete and the project’s future secured as part of Culturenet Cymru, a celebratory event was held earlier this week in Cardiff for the more than 300 people who helped create it.

Established by a consortium of heritage bodies, the project has brought together objects from repositories all over Wales, putting the cream of Wales’ cultural history on the Internet.

Photo: part of the fabric of Welsh life - Gareth Edwards played for Cardiff and earned a record-breaking 53 caps as a scrum-half for Wales between 1967 and 1978. He also played in a total of ten tests for the British Lions and was hailed as the greatest scrum half in the history of world rugby. © Dorrien.

Speaking at the event, living Welsh jewel, Rugby legend Gareth Edwards MBE explained why the project was so significant.

"Until now, these marvellous collections have been one of Wales’ best kept secrets," he said. "Thanks to the power of the Internet, people everywhere can learn about our history and culture and appreciate Wales’ unique contribution to the world."

Photo: a photograph taken from the top of Swansea Castle showing bomb damage caused during three nights of blitz in 1941. West Glamorgan Archive.

Using digitised artefacts the site traces Welsh history from the great seal of Owain Glyndwr to a pamphlet about a mermaid spotted off Carmarthenshire and a Julien MacDonald designed dress worn by Kylie Minogue.

It is fully bilingual and brings together contributions from museums, libraries, record offices and archives from all over Wales. As well as printed material and original documents it includes maps, photographs, paintings, artefacts, sound and film clips.

Originally funded by the National Lottery through the New Opportunities Fund, Gathering The Jewels has now been brought under the umbrella of the Welsh Assembly funded body, Culturenet Cymru.

Photo: Owain Glyn Dwr was proclaimed Prince of Wales in 1400, but his rebellion against the English Crown was ultimately unsuccessful. National Museums & Galleries of Wales.

With the initial digitisation stage of the project now complete, its future potential and development as an educational tool will be explored.

"Gathering The Jewels is an excellent example of how lottery and central government funding can be joined up effectively," Welsh Culture Minister, Alan Pugh AM told the guests.

"I am very pleased that the project’s educational potential will be built on and developed further – for example by tapping more formally into the national curriculum. I would like to congratulate everybody involved with the project and look forward to its continued success."

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