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Old Scatness 1 Description of stone
Event ID 1014808
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Early Medieval Carved Stones Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1014808
Old Scatness 1, Shetland, Pictish symbol stone fragments
Measurements: H 0.34m +, W 0.37m, D 0.05m
Stone type: sandstone
Place of discovery: HU 3898 1065
Present location: Shetland Museum, Lerwick (OSB 2016.34210)
Evidence for discovery: found during excavations in 2002. It was face down on a floor surface in cell 4 of wheelhouse 11 of Pictish date.
Present condition: the two fragments fit together but the top edge is broken and the top of the carving is missing. There is damage to the left-hand and lower edges, and the surface generally is worn and flaking.
Description
These two fragments form part of a slab with sides tapering upwards and chamfered outwards from the front face A. The excavators suggest that the stone may originally have been an orthostat from one of the pier terminals in the wheelhouse, which may have been cast down as part of a Viking-age slighting of the building. The direction of the chamfer would suit a location as a pier orthostat.
Firmly incised on face A is a feral bear walking towards the right, carved with considerable detail and realism alongside the typically Pictish scroll joints. Pads and claws are shown on the feet, there are teeth in the gaping mouth, and the ear is rounded, but the eye has been worn away. The central area of the animal’s rounded back is missing, but the hind quarters are heavy and powerful. This bear is unique among the Pictish single-animal symbol stones.
Date: seventh century.
References: Fraser 2008, no 198.1; Scott & Ritchie 2009, no 7; Dockrill et al 2010, SF34210, 52, 83-4, 304-6, 313-15.
Compiled by A Ritchie 2016
