Find Spot record MAB45830 - BURGHEAD

Early Medieval carved stones recovered from various locations in Burghead, found mainly in the 19th century, from the Pictish fort (NJ16NW0001).

Early Medieval carved stones recovered from various locations in Burghead, found mainly in the 19th century, from the Pictish fort (NJ16NW0001). They include stones incised with the figure of a bull and fragments of cross slabs. The surviving sculpture implies that it had its own church and burial ground. The bull symbol stones are thought to have been set into the rampart wall and many are reported as being found during destruction of part of the fort for the construction of the village and harbour at the beginning of the 19th century. The earliest record of discovery is a note in Archaeologia XVI which records that in May 1809 Mr Carlisle exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries of London an impression of a bull from a stone found at Burghead ‘where there are many others of the same description’. Professor Stuart of Aberdeen visited the site in 1809 and noted 'a very large rampart, consisting of the most various materials.....mouldings of well cut freestone, along with the outlines or the figures of various animals' and subsequently reported on the remains of the rampart ‘mouldings and carved figures, particularly of a bull’. Mitchell (1874) noted that many stones with the bull figure on them have been found (although at the time he was writing only five still existed) and that 'it is said that ‘ the time of the erection of the harbour no fewer than 30 were found’. Macdonald (1862) makes reference to an earlier source which noted that one of the witnesses to the finds of stones indicated the northeast corner of the upper terrace of the fort as the place where they were dug up. A total of 17 carved stones are currently known from Burghead, numbered according to J. Romilly Allen and J. Anderson’s Early Christian Monuments of Scotland (1903) ECMS 1-14, to which three other stones (ECMS 15-17) have been added. The earliest are blocks of stone incised with a bull symbol, of which six surviving examples are known, and which are associated with the fort itself. Only six bull stones (ECMS 1-6) are known to survive. Three (ECMS 2, 4 and 6) are recorded as being found during building works at the harbour later in the 19th century (see NJ16NW0111), probably from the destruction of the fort ramparts earlier in the century when (as noted by Young 1891) '...good stones were picked out to make the harbour, and how many inscribed and incised stones are in these harbour piers may be left to sad conjecture'. The findspots of the other three surviving bull stones are not known. ECMS 1 was stated by Allen and Anderson to have come from the well (NJ16NW0002), although Macdonald (1862) suggests that this was found during rampart quarrying in 1809. ECMS 3 was found some time before 1867, reported as being found amongst rubbish whilst carrying out improvements in Burghead. ECMS 5 was found some time before 1809 (when a cast was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries in London) during improvements to the village/harbour. Two of the 17 stones (ECMS 7 and 11), thought to be fragments of stone shrines were recovered from the chapel yard (see NJ16NW0006). Seven of the surviving carvings are fragments of probable 8th-9th century cross slabs. Three (ECMS 9, 12, 13) are reported as having been found near the end of the promontory (see NJ16NW0237). One (ECMS 14) is reported as having been found in digging foundations for a store at the north pier of the harbour in 1895 (NJ16NW0238). No location is recorded for the other three extant examples. ECMS 8, found some time before 1862 amongst ‘debris’ at Burghead is part of a small cross-slab, carved in relief and incision. On one face is part of the upper arm of a cross with a circular armpit and part of the adjacent left panel, both outlined by roll mouldings. The arm is filled with spirals, the panel containing four interlinked triquetra knots. The opposite face has a large incised image of a horseman in the top part of the slab, of which the upper body of the bearded rider carrying a shield and spear, and top of the horse’s rump remain. ECMS 10,10a comprises two fragments of a cross slab found some time before 1867 (one course states 1855); they are carved with the same key pattern in relief, so although not conjoining they are likely to come from the same slab. ECMS 17 is a fragment, probably of a cross slab, bearing two probably vertical mouldings with remains of interlace on either side. ECMS 15 and 16 refer to Celtic heads one of which (ECMS 15) is said to have come from the well (see also NJ16NW0002). However, ECMS 16 is noted as lost and its findspot is not known. It is also unclear whether this might to relate to the 'female bust' (NJ16NW0239) noted in the OS Name Book (1871) and indicated on the OS 1st edition map.

CORDINER, C, 1780, ANTIQU & SCENERY, N SCOTLAND (Bibliographic reference). SAB238.

STUART, J, 1822, OBSERVATIONS UPON THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS OT THE PROGRESS OF THE ROMAN ARMS IN SCOTLAND IN ARCHAEOLOGICA SCOTIA, 2, PP289-313, pp309-310 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4862.

STUART, J, 1856, SCULPTURED STONES OF SCOTLAND (Bibliographic reference). SAB1800.

McDONALD, J, 1861, PSAS 4(1860-1) 321-69 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1185.

ORDNANCE SURVEY, 1871, Ordnance Name Book (Bibliographic reference). SAB1360.

ORDNANCE SURVEY, 1871, Ordnance Name Book, No9(1890) 6 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1360.

MITCHELL, A, 1874, VACATION NOTES IN CROMAR, BURGHEAD, AND STRATHSPEY. PSAS 10 (1872-4) 603-90 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1196.

YOUNG, HW, 1890, THE ANCIENT BATH AT BURGHEAD WITH REMARKS ON ITS ORIGIN. PSAS 24(1890) 147-157 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2132.

MACDONALD, J, 1891, BURGHEAD AS THE SITE OF AN EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN TRANSACTIONS OF THE GLASGOW ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. V. 1 (Bibliographic reference). SAB7605.

YOUNG, HW, 1891, PSAS 25(1890-1) 425-7, p.445 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2134.

ALLEN, J R, 1891, REPORT ON THE SCULPTURED STONES OLDER THAN A.D.1100 N OF DEE. PSAS 25, 422-431 (Bibliographic reference). SAB8418.

YOUNG, HW, 1893, PSAS 27(1892-3) 86-91, p.88 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2135.

ALLEN, JR, 1903, EARLY CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS OF SCOTLAND 3, 119-23,137-42 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3.

THOMAS, C, 1964, ARCH JOURNAL 120(1963-4) 31-97, 33,70 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1927.

FRASER, I, 2008, THE PICTISH SYMBOL STONES OF SCOTLAND, 104-105 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2523.

Record last edited

Jan 24 2025 3:35PM