Scanned image of a watercolour of a base sherd of Roman Samian ware pottery.
SC 876631
Description Scanned image of a watercolour of a base sherd of Roman Samian ware pottery.
Date c. 1890 to 1893
Collection Papers of John Nicolson, antiquarian, Keiss, Caithness, Scotland
Catalogue Number SC 876631
Category On-line Digital Images
Scope and Content Watercolour of Roman pottery from Keiss broch, Caithness, Highland Keiss broch lies on the shore to the north of Keiss in north-east Caithness. The site was one of around 14 brochs that were excavated by Sir Francis Tress Barry (1825-1907), the proprietor of the Keiss estate, between 1890-1904. This watercolour by John Nicolson (1843-1934) shows a piece of Roman Samian pottery from Keiss broch. A note written on the back of the watercolour states that the pottery was 'found at the top of the ruins of a broch at Keiss above at least six or seven floors of distinct separate occupations'. This suggests that the broch was built prior to the Roman incursions into Scotland. Roman pottery is rare in the northern mainland of Scotland and it is probable that it would have been highly prized. Nicolson was born in Stemster, John O' Groats, and lived at Nybster for most of his life. He was a skilled sculptor and artist with a keen interest in the archaeology of the area and assisted with many of Barry's excavations. His drawings and sketches provide an invaluable record of early archaeological investigations in Caithness. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
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File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap
Attribution: © Courtesy of HES (John Nicolson Collection)
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