Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron AgeAnderson, Joseph
History
Scotland in Pagan Times; The Iron Age
Anderson, Joseph
Scotland -- Antiquities
[Illustration: Fig. 49.—Iron Key, from a Grave-mound in Westray (5¾
inches in length).]
But a still more remarkable set of graves was found at Pierowall by Mr.
Farrer and Mr. George Petrie. Unfortunately there is the same absence of
any precise and detailed record of the phenomena. The first, which
contained the bones of a man and a horse, had been found at the sands of
Gill by Mr. George Petrie in 1841, and the relics from it were deposited
in the Kirkwall Museum. When that museum was broken up and its contents
sold, they were purchased by Colonel Balfour of Trenaby, and sent to the
National Museum. They consist of the bronze cheek-ring of a bridle with
part of the iron bit, and fragments of wood with iron rivets which were
supposed to be the remains of a shield. The second grave was explored by
Mr. Farrer in 1855. There is no record of the phenomena of the burial,
but the objects found were sent to the museum. They are an iron knife, a
small sickle of iron, an iron key of peculiar form (Fig. 49), and a
bronze mounting of a sheath or scabbard-end plated with silver, and
ornamented with an engraved pattern suggesting [Illustration: Fig.
50.—1. Sheath-mounting from a grave in Westray, Orkney. 2. Plan of its
ornament.] a grotesque face (Fig. 50). With these were found large
quantities of decayed wood pierced with iron rivets which were also
supposed to be the remains of a wooden shield. The third grave-mound was
explored by Mr. Farrer and Mr. Petrie in 1863. No record of the
phenomena exists, but the articles found were two iron buckles
apparently of saddle girths, and a quantity of pieces of decayed wood
varying in thickness from 1 to 2 inches, pierced by iron rivets, and
also suggested to be portions of a wooden shield.
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