Jarlshof 1 Description of stone
Date 5 October 2016
Event ID 1014351
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Early Medieval Carved Stones Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1014351
Jarlshof 1, Shetland, carved fragments
Measurements: a H 0.30m, W 0.54m, D 0.03m; b H 0.19m, W 0.19m, D 0.03m
Stone type: sandstone
Place of discovery: HU 3981 0955
Present location: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh (HSA 782)
Evidence for discovery: found on the beach below the site.
Present condition: broken but carving is clear.
Description
These two fragments clearly belong to the same stone but they cannot be directly fitted together. Parts of three sides survive, which are chamfered towards the back of the slab. Incised on the larger fragment is part of the curving body of a serpent, with a median line and scales within the inner band. At one end are two parallel curving lines across the body beyond the point at which the scales finish. There is also part of a curving design to one side of the serpent body. The smaller fragment bears part of the head and upper neck of the serpent, with an eye and a pointed ear and a meander line filling the neck. They may have been part of an architectural panel.
Date: late sixth or early seventh century.
References: Hamilton 1956, 189; Scott & Ritchie 2009, no 129; Graham-Campbell & Henderson 2018.
Compiled by A Ritchie 2016.
