Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron AgeAnderson, Joseph
History
Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron Age
Anderson, Joseph
Scotland -- Antiquities
In 1845 a similar burial was discovered in the strath near Newton
Distillery, also in Islay. No record of the circumstances is preserved,
but two oval bowl-shaped brooches (Fig. 30) and an amber bead, which
were found in the grave, are in the possession of Mr. John Campbell of
Islay. The brooches are each 4⅛ inches in length, 2¾ inches in width,
and 1 inch in height. The pins had been of iron and are gone, but the
hinge and catch are still traceable. These brooches differ from those
that have been already described, inasmuch as they are not double
shelled but cast in one piece, that is, they are made of a single shell,
which is chased, but not pierced in open-work patterns. The division and
the arrangement of the patterns are much the same as in those first
described, but there are no channels in the partitions for silver wires,
and the partitions themselves are ornamented with a species of fret. The
circular spaces at the junctions of the partitions have been ornamented
with studs of paste pinned on, but studs and pins are both gone. The
patterns of the ornamentation are executed with a graving tool, but they
exhibit so little coherency of design that it is impossible to call them
zoomorphic.[24]
-----
Footnote 24:
A similar grave was found in Mull, and the brooches are in the
possession of Lord Northampton at Torloisk, but I have no further
information regarding them.
-----
[Illustration:
Fig. 31.—Brooch found in Tiree.
1. Under Shell of Brooch, gilt.
2. Upper Shell of pierced and chased work.
]
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