Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron AgeAnderson, Joseph
History
Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron Age
Anderson, Joseph
Scotland -- Antiquities
The articles found during the excavation consisted of a number of stone
pounders or hammer-stones, wasted at the ends by use, round flat stone
discs of various sizes roughly chipped to shape, broken mortars or
vessels of various sizes roughly hollowed in naturally-shaped boulders
of sandstone (one being apparently a stone mould for an iron _crusie_),
a considerable number of bone implements of various kinds, among which
are several bone pins, one of which (Fig. 211) is flat at the point, has
an ornamented head, and has been furnished with a loop for suspension at
the side; a polished bone handle in which an instrument, apparently of
iron, has been inserted; two spindle-whorls, one of bone and the other
of stone; portions of deer-horns cut into slips and pierced by
peg-holes; two long-handled combs made of deer-horn, one of which is
here figured (Fig. 212); one double-edged comb of bone, and one
single-edged comb with round back (Fig. 213), both formed in several
pieces, [Illustration: Fig. 213.—Round-backed, single-edged Comb from
Broch of Burwick.] neatly joined and held together by transverse slips
of bone fastened with rivets. The only iron object found was a portion
of a cylindrical rod. The pottery was coarse, thick, unglazed, and
unornamented, except one piece of dark-coloured ware resembling the
black ware made in Roman kilns in several parts of England. The animal
remains were chiefly those of the ox, the sheep or goat, the horse, the
swine, and the red-deer.
The Broch of Okstrow, in Birsay, excavated by Mr. Leask of Boardhouse,
yielded a number of the commoner implements of stone, such as
hammer-stones and rough circular discs, a well-made cup of sandstone, 3½
inches in diameter [Illustration: Fig. 214.—Cap of Sandstone from Broch
of Okstrow (3½ inches in diameter).] (Fig. 214), its cavity still
bearing the marks of the pointed tool by which it was fashioned; a thin
flat disc of compact slaty stone, 3¼ inches diameter, smoothly polished
on both sides, and ground flat on the edges like those from the Brochs
of Burray, Old Stirkoke, and Kintradwell; three lamps of sandstone, one
of which seems an unskilful imitation of the form of a Roman lamp (Fig.
215); while the others (Fig. <span class='htmlonly'>216</span><span
class='epubonly'>216</span>) are similar to the lamp from Kettleburn.
[Illustration: Figs. 215, 216.—Lamps from the Broch of Okstrow.] Among
the other objects found were two of the long-handled combs of bone, a
flat piece of bone resembling a weaver’s rubbing implement for smoothing
or calendering the web after it is woven, and several spindle-whorls of
stone and bone; a bone ring, 2 inches diameter, perforated with small
holes, and a tableman made of an ox tooth. [Illustration: Fig.
217.—Bronze Pin from Broch of Okstrow (4¾ inches in length).] The
objects in metal were a bronze pin, 4¾ inches in length (Fig. 217),
ornamented with [Illustration: Fig. 218.—Penannular Brooch of Bronze
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