Symbol stone from the Brough of Birsay

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Symbol stone from the Brough of Birsay

The Pictish symbol stone from the Brough of Birsay on Mainland Orkney is now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh . About 350 symbol stones are currently known, but new ones are always being discovered. Pictish symbol stones are generally found in the north east of Scotland. Eleven symbol stones, mostly fragments, were found on Orkney.

The symbol stone was found during excavations near the west wall of the cemetery in 1935. The Class I stone, broken into 16 parts and put back together again, dates from the 7th or 8th century.

description

The 1.84 m high, 0.8 m wide and 0.05 m thick slab is made of red sandstone . The plate bears a bas-relief. The upper part is decorated with four pictorial symbols that have been weathered in places. A disk with a rectangle over a crescent moon and a V-rod, a Pictish Beast and an eagle; the latter directed to the right.

Below the symbols, in a mixture of bas-relief and carving, are three warriors walking to the right. Each carries a long belt, a sword, a square shield and a spear. They have oval eyes and shoulder length hair. The front two are bearded. The higher social status of the foremost warrior is indicated by details such as his curly hair, lush beard, and a more elaborately ornate, larger shield.

classification

In "The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland" (1903) John Romilly Allen (1847-1907) and Joseph Anderson (1832-1916) classified the stones in three classes. Critics have noted weaknesses in the system, but it continues to be used. Class 1 are unworked stones with incised symbols. There are no cross representations. The stones date from the 6th to 8th centuries.

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Coordinates: 59 ° 8 ′ 11 ″  N , 3 ° 19 ′ 49 ″  W.