Daniel MacLean

I had a wee hand in helping research some of the material for this. It looks absolutely amazing!!! Can’t wait to get my copy!!

Carved in Stone A storyteller's guide to Pictland. Available now for pre-order!

I wrote a massive TTRPG setting guide encyclopaedia about the ancient Scotland and the Picts who lived in it. It covers everything scholars currently know about life in the 7th century, from landscapes to kingdoms to faith, magic, settlements, and so much more.

Check it out!
carvedinstone.scot

THE PICTISH ARTS SOCIETY CONFERENCE!!

Day 1, Metal and Metalwork
Day 2, New research on Pictish Art and it’s Context

Book below!

facebook.com/events/s/pas...

8/9th C penannular brooch pin, very similar to one from Early Medieval royal hillfort Dunadd

A black and yellow spiral glass bead made in the 1st/2nd C. Very similar to one in the Early Medieval Croy hoard which dates to the 8th C

A Pictish building in plan. The left of the image shows a massive stone built hearth with associated flue or quenching pit. To the right is the base of a low stone wall which supported a far greater turf wall. On the outside of the turf wall are a line of post holes which may be associated with the support for the roof of the building.

An archaeologist busy pretending to excavate with a child’s toy ride on tractor

Burghead 2025. What a year. Here is a snapshot of the upper citadel. 8/9th C brooch pin like one from Dunadd. A 2nd C spiral bead from inside a 8th/9th C building, very similar to one from the Croy hoard. The building is massive >7m long, a huge central hearth. Also me busy on the John Deere!

Hopefully! There is a half of a clay mould for making rings like this from the Pictish levels at Brough of Birsay. The analysis on the red inset is still ongoing. If it is garnet it is likely reused from an earlier object. Intriguingly there is also a little sliver of garnet found at Birsay too…

The kite-shaped ring has a garnet or red glass centre.

A Pictish ring was found by volunteer John Ralph during a University of Aberdeen-led dig at Burghead, Moray, #OTD in 2023. Professor Gordon Noble said it further indicated 'the high-status production of metalwork' at the Pictish power centre. 📸National Museums Scotland #medievalsky

It is amazing! The three gathered berries at the points of the lozenge signifying the Trinty and outlining crosses across the ring. The lozenge representing Christ and the blood red garnet, his wound on the cross. Alas it is not yet on display in the NMS, but hopefully soon.

7th/8th C so far but we would hope to refine that date down with further radiocarbon dating of the secure context the ring came from

Considered to be the pen drawing by a gifted reader of the manuscript from c.880 CE-890 CE.

St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 855; Grammatica, De rhetorica, Institutiones II, De natura rerum, Miscellaneous, drawings; middle of the 9th century; St. Gall; p.350
(e-codices.ch/en/list/one/...)

How about this for a book cover?!
Out on 9 October by @victoriawhitworth.bsky.social from @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/book-of-k...

A little more of Nigg. The first shows the ultra high relief of the Pictish masterpiece, zoom to the lions which roam the desert in St Jerome’s narrative. Then St’s Paul and Antony bowing over the space, books open, where the raven is bringing the consecrated host already broken. Truly spectacular.

Some highlights from the @pictishartssociety.bsky.social field trip to Pictish Easter Ross on Saturday. The puzzlement of Kincardine, the masterpiece of Nigg, the sublime hunting panel of Shandwick and the fresh as the day it was carved spirals and key pattern of Hilton of Cadboll.

And the end of Burghead too…

Aerial photo of a rocky hill summit surrounded by trees

NEW RESEARCH REPORT: Dundurn dendrochronological and radiocarbon analysis

Read the report by Fellows Prof Gordon Noble and Dr Anne Crone who were awarded a Society grant to dendro-date timbers from an early medieval Pictish site in Perth & Kinross: socantscot.org/uncategorize...

Marilyn with axe

Axe

Axe

Axe

Quite a phenomenal find at Mail today- a c.5000yr old stone axe found redeposited with late Iron Age midden deposits. Found by Marilyn - what a find for one of our undergraduate students ❤️🎉 #UniversityofAberdeen #ArchaeologyShetland #NPicts

Outfought and out thought today.

Things Unseen by Ellen Muehlberger - Paper Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.

Also, my book showed up on the UC press website and I learned that because I got an alert from Google Scholar that I should claim it so really really I'm already done for the week

www.ucpress.edu/books/things...

The six degrees of separation in Archaeology

Side 2 finished on recreation of the Skinnet Cross-slab from Caithness. Scheduled for installation at Halkirk next month.

The foundations of a circular Roman mausoleum. Its stones are covered in lichen and there is grass growing out of the top.

A relief carving on one of the stones of the mausoleum which resembles the head of a horned animal.

High on a Northumberland hillside near the Roman fort of Bremenium and the ancient road we call Dere Street are the remains of a mausoleum. It is probably the finally resting place of a high-raking Roman soldier and a couple of its stones still feature enigmatic carvings #TombTuesday

Some man for one man!

Mystery behind Viking-age treasure find in Scotland may finally have been solved A runic inscription on one of the Galloway hoard’s elaborately decorated arm rings has been deciphered

The last big 'reveal' of the Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard AHRC-funded project: the reading of the long runic inscription. Proud to say I played a small part in cracking it by spotting the two puncts around the final rune. The Hoard has now begun its worid tour! www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Great demonstration why we have a PhD advertised on coastal erosion at coastal forts. Pic left shows erosion scar on grass where a huge section of cultural deposits beneath are beginning to slump into sea. Pic Right shows more erosion @drtobydriver.bsky.social @diggermann.bsky.social

1,600-year-old Roman padlock with spring mechanism discovered in Germany — and it's tiny A miniature gold lock dated to the third to fourth centuries was found by a metal detectorist in Germany.

Some English language reporting on the really tiny find of a 1,600-year-old golden miniature #padlock with spring mechanism discovered in NW Germany also here by @killgrove.bsky.social via @livescience.com:

🏺 www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

A little walk up in the Urchany and Farley Forest yesterday

#naturesky

Et hop tilbage til Sverige og et af Skandiaviens absolut vildeste steder, gravpladsen ved Valgärde, nord for Uppsala. Gennem en periode på ca. 300 år, fra 500-800-tallet, er der begravet personer her med de vildeste gravgaver, som f.eks. disse to sværd.

Genbrug er i øvrigt ikke nogen ny ide. Allerede i vikingetiden var man begyndt på det der halløj. Dette ringspænde er egentlig producert i Irland, og var allerede et par 100 år gammelt inden det blev gravlagt sammen med en person i nærheden af Snåsa, nordøst for Trondheim.

An Illustration from the Book of Kells

Discover the secrets of the Book of Kells! 🌀

On 30 Jan, join Dr. Victoria Thompson Whitworth & Master Craftsman Thomas Keyes in Edinburgh or online as they discuss potential ties to Pictish Scotland - a Tarbat Discovery Centre event.

🎟️ Get tickets: buytickets.at/tarbatdiscov...

And importantly at Burghead where the quality of the carving is best matched

The appropriate texts were consulted 😂