Scalloway Description of stone
Event ID 1015573
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Early Medieval Carved Stones Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1015573
Scalloway, Shetland, portable carved stone
Measurements: H 43mm, diam 20mm
Stone type: silica-rich
Place of discovery: HU 4069 3992
Present location: Shetland Museum, Lerwick (ARC 4840)
Evidence for discovery: found during excavations in 1989-90 of the interior of the broch in a secondary context.
Present condition: some wear.
Description
Shaped into a cone, this was then carved to depict a human figure dressed in a full-length robe with a hood, with only the face visible, peering out from a hood that covers the jawline. The face has a well-shaped nose and heavy brow, with slits for the mouth and eyes. Above the brow is a sunken triangular panel with small holes at each angle, which is likely once to have held a decorative inset of amber, glass or metal. After carving, the piece was painted with a manganese-rich material, which is now dark brown but may originally have been red in colour.
Date: late seventh century.
References: Sharples 1998, 48, 174-5; Ritchie et al 2006, 61–3; Scott & Ritchie 2009, no 15.
Compiled by A Ritchie 2016
