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Archaeology Notes

Event ID 786690

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/786690

HY50NW 41 5445 0932

In April 1986 Mr D Harcus of Ness ploughed up a sculptured fragment in the potato garden immediately S of the old house (now a garage and workshop). This spot within the old tumail is stony, and the previous family at Ness, before 1930, are said to have discovered two human skulls here. The fragment, with maximum dimensions on the sculptured face of 589mm by 308mm, is a fine-grained grey-buff sandstone. The reverse of the slab is rough, indicating that it has been split longitudinally, thus losing its original reverse face, subsequent to the original carving, but before a later (probably post-medieval) re-use; this involved cutting a fresh edge and 30mm back from it, the latter also impinging on the Pictish figure. The figure is the greater part (the head being damaged) of the animal referred to by Thomas as the S-dragon Thomas (1961, where parallels are conveniently illustrated). It is carved as a round-sectioned groove, 3mm-4mm deep, executed by pecking; thus, although this is technically an incised figure (and there is no lowering of the surrrounding surface), the effect is of releif carving and this is a rare Orcadian example of Class II work. The quality is good and the figure large and bold, having a maximum length, measured from the re-cut edge, of 377mm.

RCAHMS 1987, visited May 1986

Dug up in a garden at Tankerness about 1986, this fragment of yellow sandstone bears the figure of a hippocamp or seahorse. Now in Tankerness House Museum.

RCAHMS 1994

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