As part of the project, learning resources were created to go with the four loans boxes. Box 1 is early prehistoric objects, Box 2 is later prehistoric objects, Box 3 is Historic period objects and Box 4 relates to Thomas Telford. The learning resources consist of:

• Information sheets relating to the objects
  • Information about the objects in the boxes (Object sheets)
  • Chronology sheets for the Mesolithic through to Medieval periods (When? sheets)
  • Craft technology sheets (CT sheets)
• Lesson plans and resources
  • Crafting lesson plans (10 topics in five levels)
  • Object lessons (for Boxes 1-3, with two levels)

The resources are available for downloading by clicking here.

If you have any feedback after using the resources, we welcome responses to this blog!

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

Our final Experimental Archaeology workshop was held on 6^th October at the Black Isle Showground in Muir of Ord. The large venue allowed us to have four activities on the go: two new workshop leaders (basket making with Monique Bervoets, flint knapping and using flint tools with Peter Bye-Jensen), and the return of two earlier workshops (green woodworking with Lachlan McKeggie and striking lead seals with Ian Hammond). It was a busy day, with many people staying hours.

Monique brought a number of baskets to show, many for specialised uses. Although the earliest complete basketry we have is 2000 years old, people must have been making baskets from earliest times. The techniques were also used to make hurdles, necessary for crop protection and used in house construction. People were able to help make hurdles and two baskets for the loans box.

Peter demonstrated flint knapping techniques, and also encouraged people to try using the resulting flint tools to cut and shape some green wood. He also had some illustrations showing use-wear analysis which he has done on some genuine artefacts.

For this workshop Ian unveiled a set of dies and seals made from them reconstructing a find from Cromarty of lead seals on cloth imports from Russia. As he explained, this was not a simple process. He first had to make punches to produce characters from the Cyrillic alphabet and other decoration. Then these punches were used to create the patterns on the dies. Only then was it possible to produce the seals. The activity proved as popular as before.

Lachlan also had a busy time, with people of all ages producing mushrooms/pegs and having a go at other working. He also showed the articles he has made for the loans box: a wooden cup and a spoon.

Resources:

See previous blogs for flint knapping, green woodworking and lead seals

Basketry resources:

Websites

Woven Communities. Basketmaking communities in Scotland
The website discusses regional traditions in Scotland, an illustrated discussion of basket types, museums with good collections, histories, how to make various baskets and much more. Recommended.

ScRAN Pathfinder on basket weaving
Links to a number of resources on the ScRAN website

Scottish Basket Maker’s Circle
Membership organisation promoting basket making. Links to courses, and with a good on-line  library.

Selected Articles

ScARF 2012 ‘4.4 Organics. Plant Fibres’, in Downes, Jane (ed), Bronze Age Panel Report, Scottish Archaeological Research Framework: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Available online at scottishheritagehub.com/content/44-organics

Thornton, Jonathan 2016. Cooking in Baskets using Hot Rocks. Published on ExARC.net

Museums with good collections

Highland Folk Museum (see Woven Communities website). The Museum also has blogs on conserving baskets in their collections

Images

A number of old photos from the late 1800s/1900s show baskets. See eg on Scran

Fife fisherwoman  000-000-573-448-R
Panniers on ponies in Shetland 000-000-003-905-C
Travelling folk making baskets at Grantully, Perthshire   000-000-039-562

ScRAN also has a picture of a Roman hat from Newstead, Roxburghshire (now in the NMS) made with basketry techniques 000-100-037=355

Videos

Man weaving baskets
Short video on ScRAN
.29

Da Makkin o’a keshie
Film by Jenny Gilberton made in 1932 where a crofter in the Shetland Isles demonstrates how to make a 'keshie' to carry home his peat.
5:15

Monique’s Bervoit's website http://www.willowweaving.com

The Experimental Archaeology: Learning about technologies in the past project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

The September Experimental Archaeology workshop had Stuart Strong, a historical interpreter and craftsman who led a session on medieval coinage for us at Inverness Library.  He brought with him tools and raw materials to make replica coins – as well as some Viking replicas including a balance for weighing our coins.

The medieval period in the Highlands is a complicated time, and very different from southern Scotland. There were three main influences at work: Vikings from the north who controlled Caithness and Orkney, and at times even further south; the Lords of the Isles in the West (and occasionally the east) who were fairly autonomous until suppressed by the Scottish kings in the late 1400s, and the Scottish kings who gradually pushed their way northwards and eventually succeeded in bringing the area into the Scottish kingdom. The Inverness area was for much of this time a frontier zone.

The Scottish kings brought new institutions and local rulers. David I (1124-53), who had spent his youth in England, introduced coinage. Before (and indeed after that) coins from other areas, particularly England, circulated in Scotland. However, no coins were minted in Inverness until Alexander III (1249-86) who minted coins widely over Scotland, in far more places than medieval Scottish kings before or after. After him, only James I (1406-37) minted coins in Inverness.

Alexander minted a silver penny in Inverness, and the intent was to produce a replica of one of these coins in the workshop. However, the die was not ready, so we used another die – and pewter not silver. But in an interesting workshop, Stuart explained the whole process. First adequate supplies of silver must have been mined or melted down into ingots. These would have been hammered flat into sheets, and then blank round shapes cut out. Dies were then made in harder metal for the obverse and reverse part of the coin, with the design punched in using sets of punches. Finally the blank was placed between the two dies, and the coin hammered.

There was plenty of opportunity for people to try hammering their coin, and it proved especially popular with the children at the workshop and at a school visit the day before.

We speculated on where the mint might have been located in medieval Inverness. Stuart showed quite clearly that a mint need not have been a huge workshop area. However, the fact that it involved precious raw materials and then finished products would have led to security issues. The castle would be the likely place for the mint – but it would have required a forge as well as a workshop area.

Many of us were left wanting to find out more – about Alexander III, medieval Inverness and where coins minted in Inverness have been found throughout Scotland and England. Each would tell a story.

For the loans box, Stuart will be supplying a set of dies for the Alexander III coin and some coins struck from them.

Other Resources

Books (available in Inverness Library)

Bateson, Donald 1987. Scottish coins.

Bateson, Donald 1991. Coinage in Scotland.

Holmes, Nicholas 1998. Scottish coins: a history of small change in Scotland 

J.D. Bateson and N.M. McQ. Holmes have periodically published surveys in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland:
‘Roman and Medieval Coins found in Scotland 2016-10’ – v. 143 (2013), 227-263
‘Roman and Medieval Coins found in Scotland, 2001-2005’ – v. 136 (2006), 161-98
‘Roman and Medieval Coins found in Scotland, 1996-2000’ – v. 133 (2003), 245-76
‘Roman and Medieval Coins frond in Scotland, 1988-95’ – v. 127 (1997), 527-61

These are also available on-line http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/volumes.cfm

Images online

There are a number of images on-line, particularly from retailers selling coins.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme in England also has a number of Scottish coins illustrated.
SCRAN also illustrates a number of Scottish coins.

Videos

Hammered Coin manufacture
Dave Greenhalgh is featured here with Barrie Cook, curator of Medieval coins from the British Museum, making and discussing hammered coins.
5:35

Shaking Hands with the Past
Jorvik Group video showing how Viking coins were made
3:48

Websites

Scottish coinage – overview on Wikipedia

Mints of Scotland – overview on Wikipedia with chart of Scottish kings and where they minted coins

Making coins in the Middle Ages - Royal Mint Museum

Stuart Strong’s website   www.gearandgraith.com

The Experimental Archaeology: Learning about technologies in the past project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

In August Jim Glazzard from Asgard Crafts returned, this time to show us Viking silversmithing skills and in particular how to make a distinctive Scottish armring often termed ‘ring-money’.

In the Viking world, silver was the main precious metal. Craftsmen made beautiful jewellery, and Jim described some of the techniques used as he worked. But silver was also used as money, with objects, coins, fragments of objects (hacksilver) and casting scraps weighed on portable balances. In the Viking world which stretched along the Baltic and into Europe coins were only valued for their weight, not having any guaranteed buying power. This provided consistency across the vast areas the Vikings travelled and traded, but it also led to complications when different weight systems were used. Sagas written in Iceland which date several hundred years later describe people using an armring to pay for expensive items, or even chopping it to roughly the required weight.

In Scotland a simple type of armring is found in hoards from the Viking period, as complete examples and fragments.  Some have small nicks, presumably made to test the purity of the silver. Archaeologists have termed these bracelets ‘ring-money.’ They could have been used as jewellery, but if need arose, could be used as money.

In 1889 a hoard of four armrings together with some coins from the Frankish and Anglo-Saxon empire was found in the wall at Tarbat church, Portmahomack by a gravedigger (above left). The coins allow the hoard to be dated to around AD 1000, showing that this collection of wealth was deposited not during the first Viking raids in the 800s, but several centuries later. How the coins travelled to Scotland, why the hoard was put in a churchwall, who was its owner and why he didn’t return for it are all interesting questions! Other examples of ring money in the Highlands are from Kirk o’Banks in Caithness and a small fragment found recently in Dornoch (above right).

Jim set about to make a silver copy of one of the armrings found in the Tarbat hoard using replica equipment. He has built a small portable forge with bellows, in part modelled after a stave church carving from Norway. His tools were modelled on an amazing find from Gotland, where a large number of tools as well as the wooden chest survived.

Jim brought with him silver ingots he had previously cast, melting silver in a crucible and pouring it into a clay mould. The next step was to hammer the ingot into a long rod for twisting (left). However, as silver is hammered, it gets harder, so the smith has to periodically soften the work in progress in a process called annealing. This is where the real experimentation took part in our workshop since the way a Viking smith would have done this is not clear. A 12^th century European treatise by Theophilus describes a tallow-burning apparatus which Jim has reconstructed (right), but it is uncertain how temperatures could be hot enough in this. So Jim tried to anneal the ingot in the forge (above right). The first time the ingot melted. The second time a better result was obtained, although there was still some cracking, perhaps from flaws in the original ingot, perhaps from the annealing. Jim hopes to explore issues of annealing further – watch this space.

Once a rod had been produced, it would have been been bent round to shape.  Some ring-money (and many other Viking silver objects) were decorated with metal punches to produce designs. Jim showed how this would have been done using pewter hammered rods he had prepared. First any decoration was made using punches, and there was a chance to have a go at this (above left). Once the decoration was made, Jim switched to a mallet made of horn to hammer the rod to the desired shape (above right). This allowed enough force to bend the rod, without obliterating the decoration.

While Jim was working he also discussed other types of jewellery the Vikings made, and he had brought a number of replicas for people to look at (and buy). He also explained the economic system this silver circulated in, showing replicas of some of the coins from different nations, and describing the hacksilver – bits and pieces of any silver – which would have been used when weighing amounts during purchases. Jim had made a replica portable balance of the sort found in some Scandinavian pagan graves, and which would have been used whenever silver needed to be weighed in exchanges. Our children’s activities table also had a portable balance to try out (of different design), as well as colouring and runic worksheets.   

As in so many of the workshops, we were again left with appreciation at the skills of the ancient craftspeople – as well as of the beautiful jewellery these smiths created.

Jim has made pewter replicas of a plain and decorated armrings and an Arabic coin for the loans box.

Other Resources

Books

Most books on the Vikings mention their metalworking skills.

Arwidsson, Greta and Berg, Gosta 2000. The Mästermyr Find: A Viking Age Tool Chest from Gotland. Publication of a well preserved Viking Age tool set – a wonderful find and essential for experimental archaeology!

Graham-Campbell, James 2006. The Viking-age Gold and Silver of Scotland, AD 850-1100. The definitive guide, but unfortunately out of print.

Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen 2003. Vikings in Scotland.

Hawthorne, J. G. and C. S. Smith 1963, reprinted 1979. Theophilus: On Divers Arts. Recommended by Jim for insights into what an early 12^th  medieval European craftsmen knew about metalworking.

Images Online

Tarbat ring-money 

Kirk o’Banks ring-money

Dornoch ring money fragment 

Try also the NMS website and search for ring money

Storr Rock, Skye hacksilver and coin hoard

Videos

Hand Crafting Viking Jewellery: Making an Arm Ring from Birka
Jim Glazzard making an arming
3:47

Hand Crafting Viking Jewellery: The Twisted Silver Neck Ring
Jim Glazzard making a twisted neckring
3:36

Hand Crafting Viking Jewellery : The Huxley Hoard
Jim Glazzard making replicas from the Huxley Hoard
3:11

2009 The silversmith at Foteviken
Silversmith working in the Viking Reserve at the Museum of Foteviken in Sweden
7:43

Websites

There are plenty of websites to look at, including:

Manufacturing Oval Brooches 

Experimental bronze and silver working from Sweden

Jim Glazzard’s Asgard blog and website, which also has replica objects for sale.

Viking neck and arm rings
 

The Experimental Archaeology: Learning about technologies in the past project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

Our July Experimental Archaeology workshop was a very different affair from previous sessions. In previous workshops we either helped or watched an object being made, learning the craft and technology by observing and doing. But for Saturday’s workshop, looking at Thomas Telford and his work in the Highlands, we couldn’t build a replica Telford bridge, road, church, harbour or pier.

Instead there was a lively session at Inverness Library. Susan Kruse from ARCH gave a background on Telford and his work in the Highlands. Alison Ward from the Institution of Civil Engineers came up from Glasgow as part of the ICE200 celebrations, and talked about Telford’s work and innovations. As she said, he was a superhero of the time, and his legacy is still felt.

Telford had a profound effect on the Highlands, arguably one of the most influential people changing the face of the Highlands. In the 1790s working for the British Fisheries Society he upgraded and built harbours and piers – and recognised the need for good roads. In the first two decades of the 1800s for the Parliamentary Commissioners of Roads and Bridges he built over 1000 miles of roads, which needed hundreds of bridges and culverts. Piers were upgraded for ferries. By the end of this project the Highlands had a communications network – and it brought economic and social changes.

So successful was Telford in this project that the government then asked him to roll out a programme of building churches and manses in rural parishes in the Highlands and Islands. They were all built to a strict budget, with set designs allowing cost savings –a very modern idea. Many of these so-called Parliamentary Churches still survive. The one in Ullapool is now the local museum, and Croick Church in Sutherland (picgtured right) still holds occasional services and can be visited.

To understand much of what Telford did, the day had a number of experiments, models and resources to browse. Alison brought a kit allowing us to experiment building a cantilever bridge. This proved very popular! But it also brought home the message that for much of his work Telford had to experiment and improvise. There were other experiments on offer too using lego and building blocks. If we couldn’t build a Telford bridge, we at least grappled with the issues of foundations, stress and water flow.

Holding this session in Inverness Library allowed us to use some of their fantastic resources. Telford was working on an autobiography but died in 1834 before it was completed. His colleague John Rickman edited and published it in two volumes in 1838. It has a captivating large atlas with plans, sections and drawings. Volume 1 is a mixture of offprints and extracts – more of a scrapbook in some ways than a traditional biography. One of my favourite parts is ‘Memorandum Book of Mr. Telford’, a section which has his notes on properties of different building materials, mathematical formulae for calculating stresses etc – his reference notebook compiled during a lifetime of work.

Inverness Library also holds the Reports of the Parliamentary Commissioners of Highland Roads and Bridges. Published initially every two years, and later yearly, they chart the progress of Telford’s work in the Highlands – and indeed beyond into the 1860s. These allow us to see how problems were encountered and dealt with. The 9th Report, written as Telford’s work was drawing to a close, is full of marvellous sections and plans (many reproduced in the Atlas) and a wonderful summary of his work.

In the past ARCH has undertaken projects investigating Telford’s work in parts of the Highlands, notably Badenoch and Strathspey, southern Skye, and the Kyle of Sutherland. In the last area, we discovered an unrecorded Telford bridge just south of Lairg, and undertook a survey (results available in the Library of the ARCH website). John Fulton made a model  of the bridge based on this survey. There was also a model made of peanuts and lentils showing how Telford built his roads in the Highlands – an innovative (and expensive) method designed to allow both carriages and cattle to use the network.

Altogether there was plenty to see and explore, and most people stayed for a couple of hours experimenting and reading.

Other Resources

On line Resources

Biography by Roland Paxon of ICE in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, updated in 2013. This gives details about Telford and his works.

There are also a wealth of articles, pictures and other material about Telford on line – too many to list here! The Highland Historic Environment Record (HER) and Canmore both record information about Telford buildings, piers, harbours etc.

Books and articles

Commissioners for Highland Roads and Bridges Reports. The full set is in Inverness Reference Library, while Reports 1-9 and 20 onwards are in Highland Archive Centre. This is an invaluable source detailing progress and developments through the years.

Curtis, G.R. 1978-80. ‘Roads and bridges in the Scottish Highlands: the route between Dunkeld and Inverness’, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 110, 475-96. Although focussing further south, it still has a good summary of Telford’s activities and a typology of his bridges. Available Inverness Reference Library, Dingwall Library or on-line.

Haldane, A.R.B. 1962.New Ways through the Glens. The best overview of Telford’s activities. Available in some Highland Libraries.

MacLean, Allan 1989. Telford’s Highland Churches.  Available in some Highland Libraries.

Paxton, Roland (ed.) 2007. Thomas Telford: 250 years of Inspiration. A very useful booklet published by ICE and available from their bookshop. Many of the articles are available on line.

Southey, Robert 1929. Journey of a Tour in Scotland in 1819. London: John Murray. Also available on the internet. Invaluable account of travels just after Telford had completed his works – but biased, because Southey was a close friend of Telford.

Telford, Thomas ed. John Rickman 1838. Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer. Telford’s autobiography completed after his death by John Rickman. Contains large atlas with many drawings. Available Inverness Reference Library.

Archives

The Highland Archive Centre has a wealth of archive material on the Caledonian Canal, as well as some Telford plans and other materials. It also houses the local council roads committee minutes which often mention Telford and his work.

Other archives relating to Telford’s work are scattered throughout the country but include National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh, The National Archives at Kew and the Parliamentary Archives at Westminster.

The Experimental Archaeology: Learning about technologies in the past project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This session was also supported by Institution of Civil Engineers.

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

In our June Experimental Archaeology workshop Neil Burridge, a metalsmith from Cornwall, provided a fascinating insight into Bronze working techniques and the roll of a smith through the ages. Neil was the inspiration for the Experimental Archaeology project, when in 2013 he recreated objects made at North Kessock, identified by broken moulds in pits. That day was full of insight and drama – as indeed was this return visit. Although health and safety considerations meant this was a demonstration, there was plenty to see and learn.

Whereas the last time Neil came we used the North Kessock finds as the starting point, this time we focussed on finds from Dores near Inverness. There a hoard of Bronze Age metalwork was recently discovered at Baile-a-chladaich, consisting of complete objects, fragments and casting waste. Nearby at Dirr Wood a Bronze Age sunflower pin was then found in foundations of a roundhouse. These objects are now in Inverness Museum, though not currently on display.

We asked Neil to try and cast a replica of the bronze sunflower pin recently found near Dores. While there have been a number of people making weapons and tools, as far as we knew little attention has been paid to these pins. The example from Dirr Wood is now a dull green patina, with most of its pin shaft broken off (see above). However, examples from elsewhere, including a recent find from Carnoustie, provide some idea of its long length. There are other pins from the Highlands too, including from a hoard near Dingwall and one from Loggie near Ullapool, each showing different types of decoration. The Dores pin has line decoration on front and back.

Neil explained how the pin would have been made, probably in two parts using clay moulds. For this demonstration he used sand, but otherwise traditional techniques – although he does use a modern temperature gauge, whereas the ancient craftsmen would have done it all by eye. He also notes how much he learned by making the object, again coming away with profound resp

Neil explained how the pin would have been made, probably in two parts using clay moulds. For this demonstration he used sand, but otherwise traditional techniques – although he does use a modern temperature gauge, whereas the ancient craftsmen would have done it all by eye. He also notes how much he learned by making the object, again coming away with profound respect for these smiths 3,000 years ago. The rim is slightly raised which created some difficulties in construction, and it would have been much easier to just create a flat disc. The resulting casting would have had decoration applied, perhaps with a simple lathe, and the shaft then joined to the pinhead. Neil brought one he had made and decorated earlier. It is stunning, and clearly must have been a mark of status. Neil notes that some of these pins are found with swords and speculates that they may have been associated.

After casting a pin, Neil then made a tool – a socketed gouge. An example was found in the Baile-a-chladaich hoard, as well as in the Wester Ord hoard near Invergordon. But as evaluations showed, the main attraction for many of the audience was the casting of a bronze sword. This required a fair amount of preparation, and while working on getting the metal ready, Neil explained about the raw materials used to make Bronze (tin and copper), passing examples around, the spread of metalworking skills, the place of swords in Bronze Age society, and much more.

Bronze objects were expensive and clearly related to status, but would they have also had a practical use? Neil believes the weapons and tools clearly had practical uses. He noted that axes often show hardening and sharpening on their edge (as is the case from the Dores axeheads – and to demonstrate he took an early Bronze Age flat axe replica, bound it to a wooden haft, and showed how it could cut wood. He notes other studies show just how deadly spears and swords would have been.

Altogether it was a fascinating day – and again shows the value of combining the evidence from archaeological objects with the practical skills of a craftsman.

For the loans box, Neil has provided the replica of the Dirr Hill pin, two gouges and three axeheads – which together with the sickle, spearhead and swords created during the North Kessock project and kindly donated by the North Kessock & District Local History Society, makes a nice little hoard in itself, and will provide a valuable insight into Bronze Age metalworking.

Other Resources

Books and Articles

The results of the North Kessock project have been published in 2017 in Feats of Clay. Bronze Age metalworking around the Moray Firth, by Graham Clark, Trevor Cowie and Susan Kruse, available from the North Kessock and District Local History Society for £7.50, excluding P&P. This includes an illustrated catalogue of known metalwork from the southern Highlands (bounded Auldearn to Glenurquhart, Dornoch Firth to Aviemore). Bronze Age metalworking is also featured in Trevor Cowie’s 1988 publication Magic Metal: Early Metalworkers in the North-East, Aberdeen.

Brysbaert, A., 1998. 'A Late Bronze Age Sickle from Shinewater Park: The Treatment of a Waterlogged Composite,' Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies, 4, pp.1–5. Survival of a wooden handle for a Bronze Age sickle. http://doi.org/10.5334/jcms.4981

Objects on display in Highland Museums

A number of museums have Bronze Age metalwork on display, particularly Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. The Poolewe hoard will be coming to the new museum in Gairloch, joining other single finds on display.

Images online

A number of images of Bronze Age metalwork from the Highlands is available on the internet, particularly on the SCRAN website. (Note that if you have a Highland Library card, you can get free access to the full record on SCRAN).

• Late Bronze Age hoard from near Dingwall, with a sunflower pin, axeheads and neckring.
  Details on SCRAN and ARCH websites
• Dail na Caraidh, near Fort William hoard of early Bronze Age axes and daggers on display at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Details on SCRAN
• Bronze Age sword from Inverbroom. Details on SCRAN
• Anvil with scrap hammerhead and spearhead from Auldearn on display in Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Details on SCRAN 
• Stittenham Late Bronze Age axehead mould. Details on SCRAN and ARCH website
• Knockgrainish Early Bronze Age axeheads, on display at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Details on SCRAN
• Early Bronze Age axehead from Auldearn. Details on ARCH website
• Early Bronze axehead from Culbin near Evanton, now on display in Dingwall Museum. Details on ARCH website
• Decorated axehead from Nairn. Details on SCRAN
• Poolewe late Bronze Age hoard with axeheads,  rings and cup-shaped ornament. Details on SCRAN
• Heights of Brae gold hoard (on display at the NMS in Edinburgh, with replicas in Inverness Museum and Art Gallery). Details on SCRAN

Videos

There are a number of videos available on the internet including those showing Neil working:

Ewart Park Bronze Age Sword
13:40

Liquid fire to metal
3:13

as well as James Dilley, who did our flint knapping workshop:

Bronze Age Casting - Axe heads
3:28

Websites

Neil Burridge’s website: Bronze Age Craft

The Experimental Archaeology: Learning about technologies in the past project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

YAC members took part in a workshop demonstrating how Pictish stones were carved. Several members got to try this out, carving patterns they designed into stone slabs. They enjoyed the experience, giving the following comments:

"It was good to learn how to carve stone and I think I'll try it at home. I have learned how to hold a chisel and carve. I am amazed at how people were able to do this without using modern tools."

"I enjoyed the event because I got to carve a fish into stone with a mallet and chisel. It was harder than it looks but I got the hang of it pretty soon. I want to do this again."

"We learned about pictish stone carving. We tried it out, doing some carving. I carved a pattern into a stone slab, it wasn't that hard."

"I learned how to carve stone patterns. I designed and carved a decorated cross. It was hard to do the outline, but it was fun. The best bit was carving deeply to make the pattern stand out. Now I'm going back to add more decoration."

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

Bilingual Gaelic / English article written by Davine Sutherland, one of the workshop participants, for the Seaboard News (Balintore) – reprinted by kind permission.

Obair-shnaidhidh Chruithneach - bùth-obrach le Barry Grove

Bha mi air leth toilichte cothrom fhaighinn a bhith aig a‘ bhùth-obrach seo anns a’ Bhlàr Dhubh 19 den Chèitean,  is Barry am fear a shnaidh ath-riochdachadh na cloiche Cruithnich againne ann am Baile a’ Chnuic. Chaidh an tachartas a chur air dòigh le ARCH (Arc-eòlas airson Coimhearsnachdan air a’ Ghàidhealtachd) mar phàirt den t-sreath “Experimental Archaeology”, a thilgeas solas air sgilean is teicneòlasan nan linntean a dh’fhalbh air dòigh phractaigeach.

On a bha daoine ann, inbhich is clann, nach robh cho eòlach air Clach Bhaile a’ Chnuic ‘s a tha sinne, thòisich Barry le bhith ag innse dhuinn mu sgeul is mu shiubhal na bun-chloiche, bho na Cruithnich a shnaidh i anns a’ choimhearsnachd, gu Caibeal Naomh Mhoire faisg air làimh, gu Caisteal Inbhir Ghòrdain, gu Lunnainn, agus gu Dùn Èideann.  Sheall e dealbh mhòr den obair-shnaidhidh air a’ chloich agus mhìnich e cho sgileil ‘s cho prìseil ‘s a tha i, ged nach eil fìor fhios aig na h-eòlaichean air na tha na samhlaidhean a’ ciallachadh.  A dh’aindeoin sin tha na h-ìomhaighean àlainn is cumhachdach, tarraingeach fhathast gus an latha an-diugh.

An uair sin thòisich e ri sealltainn dhuinn ciamar a rinn na Cruithnich – agus e fhèin – an obair-shnaidhidh, le innealan simplidh:  òrd-maide agus gilbean. An tòiseach feumaidh tu am pàtran mìonaideach a tharraing air an leac, an uair sin geàrraidh tu loidhne-muigh fhaiceallach leis a’ ghilb gus oir na h-ìomhaigh a dhèanamh tèarainte.

Agus a-nis chaidh leigeil leinn fhìn feuchainn! Bha pìosan cloich-ghainmhich agus innealan ann (ùird naidhlean seach fiodha san latha an-diugh), agus eisimpleirean de phàtranan, air no tharraing sinn feadhainn againn fhìn.  Abair gun robh sin tarraingeach, do dh’inbhich ‘s do chloinn. Chòrd e rium (agus ris na daoine bho ARCH) gu sònraichte mar a bha a‘ chlann an sàs san obair,  gun sùilean airson dad sam bith eile, a’ tarraing ‘s a’ gilbeachadh fad uair a thìde co-dhiù. Agus le toraidhean drùidhteach.  Thàinig Barry mu thimcheall, a’ cuideachadh ‘s a’ toirt stiùireadh seachad.

Bha mi a’ bruidhinn ris cuideachd mu ath-riochdachadh na cloiche ann am Baile a‘ Chnuic. Bha cuimhne agam mar a bha e ag obair oirre fad mu cheithir bliadhna, bho 2000 a-mach, a’ chiad taobh san t-seada mhòr agus an taobh eile air an làrach. Bha sinn ag aontachadh mu cho fìor chudromach ‘s a bha an cò-dhùnadh air a bhith an obair a dhèanamh anns a’ choimhearsnachd fhèin agus leigeil le muinntir a’ bhaile a thighinn a-steach agus coimhead air is bruidhinn ris fhad ’s a bha e ag obair. Mar sin ‘s ann dhan bhaile, dha mhuinntir na sgìre a bhuineas a’ chlach ann an da-rìribh, mar a bhuin a’ chiad chlach dhan choimhearsnachd  Chruithneach. Mura b’ ann mar sin, nam biodh a’ chlach ùr air a cruthachadh ann an studio taobh a-muigh na sgìre agus dìreach air a toirt an sin nuair a bha i deiseil, cha bhiodh na daoine cho measail oirre no cho moiteil aiste mar phàirt den dualchas aca, an dà chuid eachdraidheil agus beò.

Mòran taing do dh’ARCH airson an tachartais luachmhoir sin. Ma bhios ùidh agaibh pàirt a ghabhail ann am bùthan-obrach an asgaidh eile mar sin, tha barrachd ann air feadh an t-samhraidh - fiosrachadh an seo: http://www.archhighland.org.uk/experimental-archaeology.asp

Pictish stone-carving – a workshop by Barry Grove

I was especially happy to get a chance to be at this workshop in Muir of Ord on 19 May, with Barry being the sculptor who carved the reproduction of our own Pictish stone in Hilton. The event was organised by ARCH (Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands) as part of the series “Experimental Archaeology”, illuminating the skills and technologies of centuries past in a practical way.

As there were people there, adults and children, who were not as familiar with the Hilton stone as we are, Barry began by recounting the story and the travels of the original stone, from the Picts who carved it in their community, to the nearby St Mary’s Chapel, to Invergordon Castle, to London, and to Edinburgh. He showed a large drawing of the of the carvings on the stone and explained how skilful and how precious they are, although the experts don’t really know what the symbols mean.  Regardless of that, the images are beautiful and powerful, still fascinating up to our own day.

Then he began to demonstrate to us how the Picts - and he himself – did the carving, with simple tools: a mallet and chisels. First you have to draw the detailed pattern on the slab, then you cut a careful outline to secure the edge of the image.

And now we were allowed to have a go! There were pieces of sandstone and tools there (nylon mallets nowadays, not wood), and sample patterns, or else we drew our own. That was absolutely fascinating, for adults and children. I was particularly delighted (as were the ARCH people) to see how really involved the children were in the task, with no eyes for anything else, drawing and chiselling for an hour or more. And with impressive results.  Barry came around, helping and giving guidance.

I was speaking to him too about his reproduction of the stone in Hilton.  I remembered watching him work on it for about 4 years, from 2000 on, the first side in the big shed and the second on site.  We agreed that it had been a really important decision to carry out the work in the community itself, and to let the people of the village come in and watch him and talk to him while he was working.  In that way the stone came to really belong to the village and the people, just as the first stone had belonged to the Pictish community. If that had not been the case, if the stone had been created in a studio outside the area and just brought in when it was finished, people wouldn’t have developed such affection for the stone or been so proud of it as part of their heritage, both historical and living.

Many thanks to ARCH for a truly worthwhile event. If you’re interested in taking part in other free workshops like this, there are more on throughout the summer – information here:  http://www.archhighland.org.uk/experimental-archaeology.asp

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

It was a bustling turnout for our Pictish carving workshop in May 2018. Local sculptor Barry Grove spent over 5 years working on a reconstruction of the Hilton of Cadboll Stone – so was well qualified to speak about Pictish designs and craftsmanship.

Barry began by telling us some of the background to carving the reconstruction. Today the original is in the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh (and despite its size it travelled widely before ending up there), with Barry’s carving erected on the site of the original at Hilton, Seaboard villages. Originally carved c. A.D. 800, in 1676 the cross side of the large slab was chipped off (much to Barry’s disgust!) for a local laird to re-use as a grave monument for himself and his three wives. For this side his imagination and understanding of Pictish design was required.

Even the early stages – sourcing stone which was large enough – was a challenge, and shows the expertise of the craftsmen who knew not only where to source large pieces of stone, but also the time and skill to prepare the stone. Although of local sandstone, it would have been a daunting task to transport it.

Working on the reconstruction gave Barry a number of insights into the techniques. He highlighted the importance of getting the design right – task which took him over a month, and would also have been a time-consuming task originally. Then there was the issue of whether to carve it horizontally or vertically. For a stone like Hilton of Cadboll, which has carving on both sides, this was an important issue. And then there was the time to do the painstaking carving.

No Pictish tools survive. At our Iron Age bonecarving workshop, Jim Glazzard used a Viking tool box as his basis for the iron tools. The Hilton of Cadboll stone also provided some evidence. It snapped and blew over several centuries ago, and the remains of the base and lower areas of carving became buried. During investigation before erecting Barry’s replica, an excavation found the base – providing evidence of design and techniques. Because it had been buried, some of the chisel marks were clear. The base currently is housed in the Seaboard Memorial Hall in Balintore.

A number of abstract symbols and naturalistic carving decorate the Hilton of Cadboll stone. Other resources at the workshop provided pictures and sketches of other motifs used on these stones throughout northern Scotland. Their meanings are still debated – perhaps language, perhaps symbolic or status. Some of the carved stones with symbols but no cross are associated with graves found during this period, and many of the cross-slabs with Pictish carvings may also have a similar function. Martin Carver speculates that the Hilton of Cadboll stone, along with the splendid cross slabs at Nigg and Shandwick, and another fragmentary one from Tarbat, may have also functioned to mark the precincts of the Pictish monastery.

Pigment survives on some Pictish stones. This would have been resulted in a very different impression from what we imagine now. At the workshop we had some patterns and coloured pens, trying to gauge how this might have looked.

There was also plenty of time to have a go. Barry had brought some red sandstone slabs, and we tried with chisels and mallets to smooth the stone and then recreate some of the designs. As ever there was appreciation for the skills, especially for motifs with curves (and there are quite a number). We came away with an appreciation of the craftsmanship but also the artistic impact. Barry believes that the craftsmen saw themselves as artists, creating public monuments to last for generations. What, he asked, will be our legacy in this internet age?

For the loans box Barry is making a replica of part of the Hilton of Cadboll interlace pattern on the border.

Other Resources

Further reading

Carver, Martin 2005. Surviving in Symbols. A visit to the Pictish Nation. Overview on the Picts

Close-Brooks, Joanna 1989. Pictish stones in Dunrobin Castle Museum. Illustrated catalogue of the many fine stones held in Dunrobin Castle Museum, most from Sutherland.

Foster, Sally M. 2004. Picts, Gaels and Scots. Good  overview on the Picts

Fraser, Iain 2008. The Pictish Symbol Stones of Scotland. Illustrated catalogue of all stones with symbols.

Henderson, George and Isabel 2011. The Art of the Picts: sculpture and metalwork. Detailed discussion by the experts on Pictish art.

The Highland Pictish Trail. A guide to Pictish sculpture from Inverness to Dunrobin. Leaflet published by Highland Council. Out of print, but available on the internet.

Highland museums with good collections

Groam House Museum, Rosemarkie, houses a fine collection of Pictish stones, and their website illustrates and discusses them. The museum also houses binders with photographs of Pictish stones found elsewhere.

Tarbat Discover Centre, Portmahomack, also has a fine collection, many uncovered in the excavations by Martin Carver and his team. Their website has some illustrations and pictures.

Inverness Museum and Art Gallery has a small but interesting collection of Highland Pictish stones on display. Few, however, are depicted on their website.

Dunrobin Castle Museum. There is a small museum in the grounds of Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, with a fine collection of stones. These are published in the small booklet mentioned above.

Images online

SCRAN has a large number of images of Pictish stones, many from the Highlands.

Websites

British Museum: Teaching History with 100 Objects. A number of resources including images and videos relating to the Picts

Hilton of Cadboll stone (National Museums of Scotland website). Pictures and information

Barry Grove’s website 

Videos

Barry Grove describes carving the Hilton of Cadboll stone and its inspiration as a signet for Glenmorangie
2:12

The Experimental Archaeology: Learning about technologies in the past project has been funded by Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website

The Inverness Young Archaeologists Club attended the workshop on carved stone balls. They enjoyed the workshop, and are interested in future ones. A number of those attending left comments about their experience:

“It was a very good experience on how to make carved stone balls. I enjoyed using one stone to carve another. I learned how to use iron ores as paint during the Neolithic period. “

“I thought that this was very interesting and it made me very interested in Neolithic stone balls. Someday I'd love to find out what they were used for. They are very interesting to make, and also very hard, it can take a very long time to carve. Me and my friend Harvie were designing and painting with iron ore and water on stones to make a pattern. I loved today and I hope something like this could happen again.”

“I liked doing the bow drill and I also enjoyed doing the painting on the stones. It was very interesting how you could make paint out of various stones. I liked doing the chiselling and I hope we can do something like this at most of the YAC sessions, because I find it very interesting and fun at the same time.”

“I thought it was very fun. It was fun to see how Neolithic people would have gotten along. I was interested in the pigments, and I liked carving the actual stones.”

Pictures and text by YAC members

This feed was drawn from the ARCH Highland website