Desk Based Assessment
Date 1962
Event ID 863172
Category Recording
Type Desk Based Assessment
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/863172
NJ17SE 1 1750 7072
The Pictish Sculpturings in the Sculptor's Cave include the Fish, Crescent & V-rod, Pentacle, Triple Vesica, Step, Mirror-Case, and also Rectangular symbols. (Between the authorities are variations in the number of the symbols and in minor details of the drawings. All are detached, incised and simple. and appear to be early in design)
Information from OS.
J Stuart 1867; J R Allen and J Anderson 1903.
The Sculptor's Cave, Covesea, excavated 1928-9, is so named from the Pictish sculpturings on the walls. The occupation layers revealed yielded Bronze Age and Roman pottery, rings, bracelets, needles, etc., Roman coins, some of which had been re-used for ornaments, and a Viking rivet, human, animal, fish and bird bones.
The Bronze Age objects were probably indigenous, but much of the Roman material was probably lost.
S Benton 1931; G Macdonald 1934.
A Roman strip of bronze, 1 3/16" by 1/8" by 1/12, which divides into two for the last 3/8", inscribed SPILV, with P and L reversed, from the 1929 excavation is in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland [NMAS].
D R Wilson 1966.
Roman finds consist of 2nd century Samian and coarse pottery and 4th century strap-ends but 4th century penannular brooches, needles,pins and rings, all of bronze, may be Roman and some glass beads may be of re-used Roman glass.
All are in NMAS.
A S Robertson 1970.
Information from OS Index Card
Sources: J Stuart 1867; J R Allen and J Anderson 1903; S Benton 1931; G Macdonald 1934; D R Wilson 1966; A S Robertson 1970.
