McArdle, D. and McArdle, C. (2023). A drive around Pictland: wheeled transport on Pictish carved stones. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 152. Vol 152, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. pp. 111-133. https://doi.org/10.5284/1118584. Cite this via datacite
Title The title of the publication or report |
A drive around Pictland: wheeled transport on Pictish carved stones | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 152 | |||||||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland | |||||||
Volume Volume number and part |
152 | |||||||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
111 - 133 | |||||||
Downloads Any files associated with the publication or report that can be downloaded from the ADS |
|
|||||||
Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
|
|||||||
DOI The DOI (digital object identifier) for the publication or report. |
|
|||||||
Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | |||||||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
A damaged carving of a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle appears on the Pictish cross-slab from Skinnet Chapel, Halkirk, Caithness (Skinnet 1). In this paper the vehicle's original design is partly re-created, with details of the pair of horses yoked to it. The slab, now in Thurso Museum, was surveyed in 2015 and 2017 by the use of RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging), a computer-based enhancement process. Resulting augmentation of surface relief in the processed images allows multiple overlays to be drawn/traced from various light vectors to create a composite final image. The restored components of the vehicle – cart or chariot – are discussed, with relevance to its possible role. Atypical physical features carved on the facing horse of the horse pair may hint at some ceremonial motive for their presence. After a short survey of known evidence for Pictish vehicles, direct derivation of design from antecedent archaeological finds of Iron Age chariots are assessed as unlikely due to the wide time gap. Possible construction influence (in both cultural directions) from wheels found in Scottish Roman sites is noted. The common format of wheels and vehicles on the Skinnet 1 stone and Irish High Cross illustrations of 'chariots' are described and mapped, with the appearance of the latter in early medieval times attributed to Pictish traditions of cartwrighting. | |||||||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2023 | |||||||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
|
|||||||
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
ADS Archive
(ADS Archive)
|
|||||||
Relations Other resources which are relevant to this publication or report |
|
|||||||
Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
12 Apr 2024 |