Painted pebbles
Encyclopedia
Painted pebbles are a class of Pictish
artifact
unique to northern Scotland
in the first millennium AD.
, which have been painted with simple designs in a dye which is now dark brown in colour. The size varies from 18 mm by 22 mm to 65 mm by 51mm. It has not proven possible to analyse the dye itself from the stains that remain.
The motifs are carefully executed and the most common are dots and wavy lines. Other motifs are small circles, pentacles, crescents and triangles, showing strong relationships with the Pictish symbol stone motifs.
and in Caithness
. Most have come from broch
sites which have been shown to have had an extensive post-broch occupation. An ogham
- inscribed spindle-whorl was associated with one find at Buckquoy in Orkney (see Buckquoy spindle whorl). Several have been associate with wheelhouse
s or their outbuildings. An example was found at a Pictish site at Buckquoy in Orkney as reported in 1976. It had the 'small ring' type decoration.
-stones', often known as 'Cold-stones'. Such stones were used within living memory (1971) to cure sickness in animals and humans.
In the Life of St. Columba it is recorded that he visited King Bridei
in Pictland in around the year 565 AD and taking a white stone pebble from the River Ness
he blessed it and any water it came into contact with would cure sick people. It floated in water and cured the king from a terminal illness. It remained as one of the great treasures of the king and cured many others.
The belief in charm-stones is well documented in medieval Iceland
(Proc Soc Antiq Scot).
Examples of 'charm-stones' or 'cold-stones' are held at National Museum of Rural Life
, Kittochside, near East Kilbride
.
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
unique to northern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in the first millennium AD.
Appearance
They are small rounded beach pebbles made of quartziteQuartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
, which have been painted with simple designs in a dye which is now dark brown in colour. The size varies from 18 mm by 22 mm to 65 mm by 51mm. It has not proven possible to analyse the dye itself from the stains that remain.
The motifs are carefully executed and the most common are dots and wavy lines. Other motifs are small circles, pentacles, crescents and triangles, showing strong relationships with the Pictish symbol stone motifs.
Distribution
Over the last ninety years nineteen painted pebbles have been found in sites in the Northern IslesNorthern Isles
The Northern Isles is a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main island groups: Shetland and Orkney...
and in Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...
. Most have come from broch
Broch
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....
sites which have been shown to have had an extensive post-broch occupation. An ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
- inscribed spindle-whorl was associated with one find at Buckquoy in Orkney (see Buckquoy spindle whorl). Several have been associate with wheelhouse
Wheelhouse (archaeology)
In archaeology, a wheelhouse is a prehistoric structure from the Iron Age found in Scotland. The term was first coined after the discovery of a ruined mound in 1855. The distinctive architectural form related to the complex roundhouses, constitute the main settlement type in the Western Isles, in...
s or their outbuildings. An example was found at a Pictish site at Buckquoy in Orkney as reported in 1976. It had the 'small ring' type decoration.
Cultural significance
Painted pebbles have been dated to the period 200 AD to the eighth century AD, the Pictish period. They may have been sling-stones that were thought to be of magical nature by the picts, however local traditions suggest that they were 'charmBlessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
-stones', often known as 'Cold-stones'. Such stones were used within living memory (1971) to cure sickness in animals and humans.
In the Life of St. Columba it is recorded that he visited King Bridei
Bridei I of the Picts
Bridei son of Maelchon, was king of the Picts until his death around 584 to 586.Bridei is first mentioned in Irish annals for 558–560, when the Annals of Ulster report "the migration before Máelchú's son i.e. king Bruide". The Ulster annalist does not say who fled, but the later Annals of...
in Pictland in around the year 565 AD and taking a white stone pebble from the River Ness
River Ness
The River Ness is a river flowing from Loch Ness in Scotland, north to Inverness and the Moray Firth. On a hill above the river in Inverness stands Inverness Castle. The river is overlooked by the Eden Court Theatre, one of the largest theatres in Scotland. St. Andrews Cathedral also lies along...
he blessed it and any water it came into contact with would cure sick people. It floated in water and cured the king from a terminal illness. It remained as one of the great treasures of the king and cured many others.
The belief in charm-stones is well documented in medieval Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
(Proc Soc Antiq Scot).
Examples of 'charm-stones' or 'cold-stones' are held at National Museum of Rural Life
National Museum of Rural Life
National Museums Scotland and partners have developed the National Museum of Rural Life, previously known as the Museum of Scottish Country Life, which is based at Wester Kittochside farm, lying between the town of East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire and the village of Carmunnock in Glasgow.- The...
, Kittochside, near East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
.
See also
- Amulets
- Apotrope
- MagicMagic (paranormal)Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
- PebblePebbleA pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of 4 to 64 millimetres based on the Krumbein phi scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered to be larger than granules and smaller than cobbles . A rock made predominantly of pebbles is termed a conglomerate...
- Touch piecesTouch piecesA touch piece is a coin or medal attached to attracted superstitious beliefs, such as those with "holes" in them or those with particular designs...