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Heather
James
University of Glasgow
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The Hilton of Cadboll cross-slab, a Pictish sculpture dating to the late 8th century, is on display in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. One side depicts a hunting scene and other Pictish symbols. The other side, which would originally have been carved with a cross, had been re-dressed in the 17th century and is carved with a memorial. This re-dressing of the stone face resulted in thousands of fragments of the Pictish carving being discarded onto the ground.
GUARD (Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division) undertook the excavations at Hilton, Easter Ross in 2001 when the lower portion of the Hilton of Cadboll Pictish cross-slab was re-discovered and lifted from the ground for conservation. Thousands of fragments of the original Pictish carving were also retrieved from the site and have been analysed in an attempt to reconstruct the missing cross-face.
The chapel site in Hilton, Easter Ross, from where the cross-slab was removed in the nineteenth century, came into the care of The Scottish Ministers in 1978 and is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Excavations here aimed initially to examine evidence for the defacement of the Pictish cross-slab and in later seasons to recover all the fragments and to examine their archaeological context. These excavations have recovered the original lower portion of the cross-slab, revealed two settings of the slab and has resulted in the retrieval of over 10,000 fragments. About 1,500 of these have some evidence of the original sculpted surface and an attempt has been made to piece these together to reconstruct the original cross-face. This project has been funded by Historic Scotland, The National Museum of Scotland, Highland Council and Ross and Cromarty Enterprise.
The community reaction to the discovery of this immensely important lower portion, including the setting up of the Historic Hilton Trust, has been studied by Dr Sian Jones of Manchester University [Early Medieval Sculpture and the Production of Meaning, Value and Place: The Case of Hilton of Cadboll, by Sian Jones (2004). ISBN 1 903570 43 3]. The community study was funded by Historic Scotland.
Three seasons of excavations have taken place in Hilton, starting in February 1998 with a small test trench. The success of this in finding several carved fragments resulted in more extensive excavations being carried out in January 2001. The surprise discovery of the lower portion still in the ground, along with many more carved fragments, led to a further season in August 2001. The aim of this last season was to examine the archaeological context of the setting, to examine the relationship between the setting and the Chapel and to retrieve all of the sculpted fragments.
The post-excavation work on the fragments has taken place in the National Museums of Scotland. The fragments were spread out like a giant jigsaw puzzle in trays where Ian Scott and Isobel Henderson could study them, and the conservators gradually matched pieces together.
A program of post-excavation work was also carried out including analysis of the artefacts and other materials retrieved from the excavation. This involved analysis of the samples taken to measure the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), soil chemistry, radiocarbon dating of charcoal and skeletons, plus work on the GUARD database of sculpted fragments. The results of this work is included in the final publication (see Introduction).
The art historical analysis undertaken by Isobel Henderson has examined in detail the symbolism of the carvings which is thought to convey a Christian message of Salvation. The female rider is an idealised vision of female authority and Christian integrity. The reconstructed figures on the cross-face are thought to represent Death, Judgement, Heavan and Hell. The similarities between this cross and other Pictish art suggests that the Hilton cross was carved in the late 8th century.