Another discovery from Shetland’s Pictish power-base
Another wonderful sculptured stone has been discovered at Mail, Cunningsburgh – the ninth inscribed stone to be found there in the past 130 years. The latest discovery is a Pictish stone, decorated with mysterious symbols.
The 18 x 11 inch sandstone slab, which is broken from a bigger stone, is inscribed with symbols on one side. Most striking are two discs with crosses, which are connected together with a band, and crossed over by a Z-shaped figure with ornate terminals. The end of the stone is broken across part of an interlaced decoration, but the border edge survives.
No-one knows the religious significance of Scotland’s 40-plus Pictish symbols, but the motifs are consistent throughout Scotland. The one on the latest stone is known by archaeologists as a “double-disc and Z-rod”, one of the commonest motifs. However, what makes the new stone so important is the use of crosses.
Double-discs often have circles within them, and sometimes spirals, but this is the only one with crosses. If this is a Christian cross, and not just a geometric design, it indicates a mixed belief between the Picts’ indigenous religion, and their new Christian faith.
The graveyard where the stone was uncovered has been a centre for religious belief for 2,000 years, and may have been a centre of cultural or political power during the Pictish era. This is shown by the four stones which have been found there bearing the ancient alphabet called ogham, and the amazing stone found in 1992 - the well known Mail Stone - depicting a mystery figure in dog-head mask.
In the Middle Ages the site was a burial ground, and three parts of gravestones have been found with inscriptions in Norse runes. The meaning of the old Pictish stones would probably have been unknown by then, but the latest stone, or at least part of it, was still above ground in 1769, when somebody scratched that date on the stone.
The new stone shall be on display in Shetland Museum and Archives throughout June 2008 as a lead-up to the St Ninian’s Isle Treasure loan and conference. The St Ninian’s Isle Treasure returns to Shetland, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its discovery, on 4th July for a three month display.