Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron AgeAnderson, Joseph
History
Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron Age
Anderson, Joseph
Scotland -- Antiquities
A fourth of these armlets (Fig. 140), closely resembling the last in
form and character, but slightly larger in size, was found in 1874 in
the course of the excavation of an underground structure at Grange of
Conan, near Arbroath, in Forfarshire. The structure was of the same
character as that in connection with which the pair of massive bronze
armlets with enamels (Figs. 115, 116) were found at Castle Newe, in
Aberdeenshire. The special features of these structures with their
contents, and their relations, will be discussed in a subsequent
lecture, and it is only necessary in this connection to mark the
association of the two forms of armlets with the one type of structure.
The armlet itself (Fig. 140) is a single casting of bronze, consisting
of three coils, of a serpentine form, divided from each other by a
somewhat wider interspace than in any of the other instances, and
slightly more convex externally. The metal is thin, and the size and
weight of the armlet are not excessive. Its internal diameter is 2⅝
inches, and its depth across the coils 2¼ inches, its weight being about
10 oz.
In these spiral snake-like armlets, we have a class of objects
exhibiting a distinct and strongly marked typical character. They are
articles of personal adornment, possessing a very special form and style
of ornament. Both by the peculiarity of their form and the specialty of
their style of ornament they are closely allied to the class of more
massive and more peculiar articles of adornment previously described.
Like them also they are peculiarly restricted in range. The area over
which they have been found, so far as we know, is confined to the
eastern portion of Scotland, between the Moray Firth and the Firth of
Tay. No specimen is known beyond the bounds of Scotland.
* * * * *
In this connection, also, there falls to be described a class of objects
of peculiar type, presenting features of decoration which are
essentially Celtic in character. They are mostly carved in stone, but
there is one example in bronze which supplies the link between them and
the metal-work to which by their decoration they are most closely
allied.
[Illustration: Fig. 141.—Ball of cast bronze, found at Walston,
Lanarkshire (actual size).]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account