Scottish Archaeology Month
September is Scottish Archaeology month. Check out the on-line programme of events at;
scottisharchaeology.org.uk/
Tons n tons of stuff to see n do...
Martin
From Blairgowrie Advertiser a couple of weeks ago;
Pictish stone needs a home
Sally Wilson
AN ancient Pictish slab, which has been severely eroded after lying in an East Perthshire churchyard for decades, could soon be conserved in a museum.
Standing at around eight foot, the engraved Pictish cross-slab, which dates back thousands of years, was discovered in around 1865 before being moved to the Kettins churchyard.
Eroded after years of use as a footbridge across Kettins Burn, now government agency Historic Scotland is due to carry out tests on the ancient monument, while villagers help find an appropriate final resting place for the slab.
Coupar Angus and Meigle councillor Alan Grant, who has been in contact with Historic Scotland, hopes the historic and cultural wealth of the cross-slab will capture the imagination of local residents and so help in a bid to try and retain the stone locally.
The sheer size of the slab, however, is likely to make relocating it difficult Councillor Grant explained. He said: “The cross-slab is described as massive and indeed it is. This means that there are two principal problems in relocating it; first you have to find a big enough building to put it in and secondly you have to have a strong enough base to support it.
“That, of course, assumes you can actually move it in the first place but Historic Scotland advise me they have a specialist team which does this type of job and they seem confident they can handle the moving. So now our most important task is to find somewhere to set it up which is firstly, and most importantly, public, and if possible, local.”
Part of a former Pictish settlement, Kettins and the surrounding area has been found to be rich in 7th to 10th century stone carvings over the last 100 years or so. The discoveries in the area are recognised worldwide as one of the most important examples of early medieval sculpture in Western Europe.
And despite showing signs of physical erosion from its use as a footbridge, from the weather and from the damaging effect of ivy, the carvings are still evident on one side of the stone. Although the symbolic cross much associated with Pictish carvings is very worn, four panels on the right of the shaft contain various carvings including a griffin or winged horse, three cloaked figures and a creature with the head of a Pictish beast and the body of a horse or dog.
Historic Scotland are due to carry out a specialist assessment of the stone to decide how best to conserve it and have stressed their sensitivity to trying to retain it locally. This forms part of the work of the agency’s 7,000 monument wardens and the Kettins cross-slab was identified as being in need of conservation as a matter of routine checking.
Meigle Museum, which already contains 26 sculptured Pictish stones, is being considered alongside Perth Museum, as a possible permanent home for the slab. A spokesperson from Meigle Museum explained how the museum, which is largely visited by tourists from all over the world, was considered one of the best collections of Pictish stone in the country. She added: “The stone would certainly be one of the biggest in our collection but we’ve got the room for it and the more we have of these ancient stones the better.”
23/8/02- from the top of the southern field clearance pile (the north pile behind the circle- and yet more pylons behind that!)
23/8/02- one for the collectors! A heather covered mound rises from the moor.
23/8/02- this is it I’m afraid- all that’s left is a small ring- it’s just below the pylon in the middle of the pic with a line of nettle in it.
Wednesday 28/8/02
Today I need to leave the city, just for lunchtime, but I need to escape. This place draws me like a magnet. Every time I lift my head from my PC or paperwork in my office, this ridge is there. It’s funny, I’ve always stayed in Edinburgh and I’ve always been interested in the surroundings hills, woods and country. I’ve often wondered ‘where is that line of trees on the horizon?’ It’s here. Where these rocks are. This is the place that holds the key. This is the site of the *interpreter*. I sit by the main cup and ring marked stone, place my hands lightly on it and close my eyes. I let the sounds rush in. My head is too full of fuzz though. I still leave this place calmed.
‘See for yourself the summer fields, before the tractor comes…walk along on your own’.
NT 1529 6838 Wednesday 28/8/02
The forgotten monolith. This site is not marked on the current OS map, or any other older maps I’ve consulted. Nor is it mentioned in ‘The Standing Stones of the Lothians’. Even in the RCAHMS database the last entry was in 1975 to state dimensions. This is a noble stone though- just over 1.5 metres high and almost diamond shaped in section with points aligned roughly NE/SW. A large section is missing from the base of the northern face. The rock from which it is fashioned has natural horizontal marks all round it approximately 5 cm apart. This monolith is surrounded by dead trees, brambles bushes and 2 metre high stinging nettles. Like many sites I’ve visited the past few months, it’s possibly best to try and find this one in Winter when the vegetation isn’t so prolific! According to the OS map there is a network of paths through this forest- aye- my arse! Thanks heavens for GPS is all I can say- I would never have found this site otherwise. The forest I’m in looks like it’s used by paintballers, though there is no one around today. I leaped over a stone wall to get into this forest- perhaps there’s an easier way in from the A71!
NT578741 Friday 23/8/02
Heading west along the road from Traprain Law a Scottish Rights of Way Society sign appears at the roadside- ‘Public Footpath to Standing Stone’. It’s along this path I head- it’s absolutely soaking and before long it feels as if my boots are full of water. I walk along by the hedgerows ever conscious of the bulk of Traprain Law to my left. Over the fields I can just make out the top of Loths stone peeking over a hedge. I come to the field and jump the gate then head along the edge of the field of golden wheat to the memorial to King Loth. The stone is about 2.5 m tall with sides aligned NNE/SSW (remembering that this stone has been moved). The edges of the stone are amazingly sharp- almost as fresh as the day this monolith was shaped.
NT 5793 7461 Friday 23/8/02
On the lower western slopes of Traprain Law is a small souterrain aligned N/S. This subterranean passage is only about 6 metres long, 60 cm wide and 90 cm deep- it’s large enough for a single person to crawl through. I don my caving boiler suit and hard hat and crawl in the chamber. Only about 3 m remains roofed with some very large lintels. The structure is similar to all other souterrains I’ve visited, apart from it’s size of course. At the southern end is a gap, then two more lintels and backfilling underneath. At the northern end is another gap, then one more lintel. The existence of this tiny chamber on this huge settlement and hill throws up more questions regarding the meaning of such subterranean chambers. It’s too small for animals, only large enough for one (or two at a big push) people. Sure, it could be used of the storage of grain, but would only keep a handful of folk supplied for a winter- certainly not the numbers that would have been living on the Law.
Go on- strip naked and get yer Pagan Ass through this stone ;)
Legend has it that squeezing through the Maiden Stone will bring not only good luck, but also increase fertility. The charm is even greater should you do this naked!
NT 5830 7474 Friday 23/8/02
Walking east along the ridge of this amazing hill I’m seriously considering doing this ritual. There’s no one around, no cars in the car park at the base and no one up the Law. The views around are fantastic today (though the Lammermuirs are still shrouded in hill fog)- the nearest sign of life is a tractor busy in the fields to the south way way below me and the A1 even further to the north. I reach the Maiden Stone- it’s a large vertical rock sheet that has split away leaving a gap about half a metre or so wide through which one should squeeze naked to bring both good fortune and to increase fertility. The rock is about 1.5 metres high, so any flesh exposed during the ritual is hidden (apart from the squeeze in and out of the stone). I sit at the northern end of the Maiden Stone- it’s actually quite hidden down in this hollow- before I know it the boots are off and it’s only a matter of seconds before I’m completely naked atop Traprain Law! I go into the Maiden Stone and make my way along, the rocks feels warm and smooth. I stop almost at the end and, well, I don’t make a habit of this, but I have to admit it feels amazing to be sandwiched in rock. I squeeze out of the other end and go back to get dressed quickly. I feel so empowered, so invigorated. I want to go through again, but decide not to push my luck- I don’t fancy getting caught doing this!
NT 646 678 Friday 23/8/02
I can usually battle my way through dense forest, but this is ridiculous. I’ve made it about 10 metres or so into the trees practically on my hands and knees and narrowly avoiding losing my eyes. I am soaking wet and according to the GPS there’s still another 60 metres to go- no way! Another site now lost in very dense forest.
NT 645 675 Friday 23/8/02
The GPS points me off the forest track and through head high bog rushes, down a fence line and to a sheepfold. Unfortunately, only 6 figure co-ordinates are available for this site. I search and I search- in through dense forest, around the peat bog, searching the grassy banks of the burns, but nothing. The OS couldn’t find this site back in 1979 and the description in ‘The Standing Stones of the Lothians’ doesn’t quite tie in with the co-ordinates given. I’m afraid it’s another site lost in now dense forest.
NT 6238 6671 Friday 23/8/02
A grass-covered ring about 12 metres in diameter is all that remains of this robbed cairn. It’s sited on the eastern slopes of expansive moorland just north of Whiteadder reservoir. Small stones still poke through the turf all round the cairn which still rises to a height of about 1 metre. The centre of this burial mound has long gone, but is now full of tiny purple heather blossoms…
NT 6540 6732 Friday 23/8/02
Way up on this moor, in the middle of these hills, seven small stones form an oval 9 metres EW, 8 metres NS. The stones are all set on edge or end, as many of the Whiteadder monuments. They only rise to a maximum height of about 25 cm. Along the northern arc of the circle I can see three earthfast stones (four have been reported) and approximately 10 metres west are another three stones (also earthfast).
NT 6645 6723 Friday 23/8/02
There are no paths to this place, no tracks up here. Just four fire breaks in this forest converging on the Witches Cairn. The way up to this site is really hard going- knee high grass and bog rushes, flies galore. I’ve got full water proofs on as the vegetation is so wet, however, it’s also so humid that I’m as soaking underneath! There is nothing for miles- forests, moorland and deserted farm houses. The cairn itself is a rough grassy mound about 21 metres in diameter and about 1 metre high. At the centre is a modern pile of stones- curiously one of these small (25 by 14 cm) stones has a deep cup mark on it’s upper surface (4 cm diameter by 3 cm deep). Approximately 5 metres west of this central cairn is a large boulder 60 cm long, 45 cm wide and 40 cm tall- on it’s upper surface is a large cup mark measuring 5 cm deep by 5 cm diameter. Measurements done, photos taken I pack my gear and leave sharpish, this place is giving me the creeps.
NT 6393 6697 Friday 23/8/02
The Herring Road track gives way to a beautiful purple heather path, the hill path gives over to moorland. The cairn is basically a heather covered mound rising out from the moor to a height of about 60 cm with a diameter of around 10 metres.
I am standing atop Spartleton Edge Cairn. No sounds, no sun, just heather and forests just visible through the swirling mists.
Desolation, desolation, desolation.
NT 6263 6503 Friday 23/8/02
The mist swirls across the moorland, the pylons just to the north crackle And then there are these stones. A stone circle? A ritual enclosure? A hybrid ring cairn/stone circle? It really doesn’t matter. What does though is that this is a gorgeous little circle of 30 stones having a diameter of about 12 metres. Many of the stones are earthfast, but some still survive to about 40 cm. Most are set on edge. There is also a central stone- unusual for most Scottish circles. This site was apparently covered in field clearance stones in 1986, but were since carefully removed and theses two large piles sit to the north and south of this circle. At the gate to this field stands another concrete pillar that used to form part of the East Lothian District Council Archaeological Motor Trail- this area being Number 3 (Kingside Hill, Crow Stones, Nine Stanes and two mounds near here; nearby White Caste hill fort was Number 1 on the trail).
NT 6210 6470 Friday 23/8/02
On the way in to the Whiteadder valley through the dense hill fog, I stop just under the pylons. They crackle furiously in this moist air. I head back up the side of the road to Blue House Cairn. This site has been robbed out and is about 13 metres in diameter. Only a small ridge of earth and stones survives to a height of about 13cm.
27/7/02- looking east with the OS triangulation point in the background
27/7/02- the *viewfinder* with Benachally Hill in the distance
28/7/02- looking up towards the standing stone (and a cow or two!)
28/7/02- trying to decide which stones are from field clearing, which are antiquarian...
28/7/02- thistles galore and field clearance stones next to the northernmost stone of this four poster
28/7/02- the cup markings on the side of the standing stone looking down on the site they represent (in the patch of grass at the end of the field)
28/7/02- the huge stone with the Parkneuk circle up by the trees on the horizon (sorry- cup markings v difficult to see let alone photograph!)
