Date:

Archaeologists uncover Pictish inscribed stone in Scotland

Archaeologists have uncovered a Pictish stone with 1,500-year-old inscriptions near Doune in Scotland.

The Picts were a group of people who inhabited the areas of Northern and Eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

- Advertisement -

Picts are assumed to have been the descendants of the Caledonii and other Iron Age tribes, mentioned by Roman historians or on the world map of Ptolemy. The Picts, or “Painted People,” were so-named around the 3rd century AD as a generalised exonym used by the Romans to describe those Britons north of the Forth–Clyde isthmus.

Roman historians described their war paint and tattoos, with the Latin word “picti” meaning “paint”. The name continued to be used by outsiders, notably the Irish Annalists and scholars such as Bede from the Kingdom of Northumbria of the Angles during the Middle Ages.

murray2
Image Credit : Murray Cook

A team of archaeologists and volunteers discovered a cross slab stone in the Old Kilmadock cemetery near Doune, a burgh within Perthshire. The stone has a mysterious inscription written in a medieval alphabet called ogham, and animal figural decorations depicting carved birds that dates to between AD 500 to 700.

The stone likely survived as it was reused in much later times as a grave covering in the cemetery, giving the researchers new insights into the ogham language which were generally inscribed on stones to spell out the names of wealthy or powerful people. Around 400 ogham inscriptions have been identified, mostly in Ireland, but the new discovery at Old Kilmadock is the first example to be found in central Scotland with this mysterious alphabet.

- Advertisement -

Speaking to Live Science, Stirling Council archaeologist Murray Cook suggests that the stone was “”a public statue erected by a wealthy patron to celebrate both their Pictish heritage and their Christian faith. The ogham reflects the influence of Irish Christians.”

This interpretation is supported by three additional stones found previously in the cemetery that have two different alphabets. “I think this means they were a literate and an intelligent religious community,” Cook said; there was “probably a monastery.”

Header Image Credit : Murray Cook

 

- Advertisement -

Stay Updated: Follow us on iOS, Android, Google News, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, LinkedIn, and our newsletter

spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 8,000 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Medieval discoveries in Huttons Ambo

Archaeologists have made several new discoveries from the late medieval period during excavations in the Yorkshire village of Huttons Ambo, England.

Funerary structure and ceremonial offerings unearthed at Kuélap

Archaeologists from Peru’s Ministry of Culture have unearthed a chulpa type funerary structure during excavations at the northern zone of the Kuélap archaeological complex.

The ethereal fire of blue lava

Despite the name, blue lava is not actually molten lava, but rather an extremely rare natural phenomenon caused by the combustion of sulphuric gases emitted from certain volcanoes and fumarole vents.

Centuries-old shipwrecks uncovered in Varberg

Archaeological investigations in advance of the Varbergstunneln project have uncovered historical shipwrecks in Varberg, Sweden.

African figurines found in Israel reveal unexpected cultural connections

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Cologne University have made an unexpected discovery in Israel’s Negev Desert: carved figurines with apparent African origins.

Ancient ritual drug use found at Chavín de Huántar

Archaeologists have identified traces of psychoactive plants used in ceremonial rituals at Chavín de Huántar in Peru’s Ancash Region.

“Bollock” shaped dagger among new discoveries at Gullberg fortress

A report on the recent excavations at Gullberg fortress is providing new insights into the history of one of Sweden’s most strategically important castles.

Roman coin hoard among largest discovered in Romania

A metal detectorist has unearthed a giant coin hoard from the Roman period near the village of Letţa Veche in southern Romania.