Portmahomack sculpture fragments
Encyclopedia
The Portmahomack sculpture fragments are the slabs and stone fragments which have been discovered at the Easter Ross
settlement of Portmahomack
(Tarbat).
There are around 200 of these fragments, each the size of a handspan or larger, making Portmahomack one of the major centres of rediscovered Pictish art. Nineteen pieces were found in and around the churchyard before 1994, and the remainder were found during formal archaeological investigations by the University of York between 1994 and 2007 Tarbat Discovery Programme. The excavation director, Martin Carver
has proposed that the majority of the carved pieces originated in four monumental crosses or cross-slabs of exceptional size and elaboration, placed around the site of St Colman's Church. One of these (TR1) carried four Pictish symbols, a second (TR2) had snake-headed interlace
. A third (TR10, 20), features images of a complex beast and a row of apostles carrying books. This same stone originally carried along one edge a Latin inscription,
lid with images of a boar and a wolf-like creature. Yet another fragment, the so-called Calf Stone, appears to belong to a shrine or screen. It depicts a bull and a cow tending to their calf. Other pieces from Portmahomack have been recognised as grave markers, incised with simple crosses. These are comparable to examples known from Iona
and other early Christian sites in Argyll
and western Scotland
. Much of the Portmahomack sculpture has been assigned by radiocarbon dating of the layer in which it was found to the 8th century. Artistically, it has points of contact with sculpture in Iona and Northumbria
, but its closest affiliation is with the great cross-slabs on other parts of the Tarbat peninsula, namely those at Hilton of Cadboll
, Shandwick
and Nigg
, which one may perhaps assume were created by a school of masons centred on Tarbat. Together they demonstrate that the Tarbat peninsula was a prime centre of 8th-century European art.
The collection also includes a number of architectural pieces which are likely to have adorned an early stone church, including a probable label-stop and a gable finial. This collection, not yet fully published, is probably the most extensive to survive from early medieval Scotland
.
Easter Ross
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...
settlement of Portmahomack
Portmahomack
Portmahomack is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about three miles from the village at the end of the Tarbat Peninsula. Ballone Castle lies about a mile from the village...
(Tarbat).
There are around 200 of these fragments, each the size of a handspan or larger, making Portmahomack one of the major centres of rediscovered Pictish art. Nineteen pieces were found in and around the churchyard before 1994, and the remainder were found during formal archaeological investigations by the University of York between 1994 and 2007 Tarbat Discovery Programme. The excavation director, Martin Carver
Martin Carver
Martin Oswald Hugh Carver FSA , is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, England, director of the Sutton Hoo Research Project and a leading exponent of new methods in excavation and survey. He specialises in the archaeology of early Medieval Europe...
has proposed that the majority of the carved pieces originated in four monumental crosses or cross-slabs of exceptional size and elaboration, placed around the site of St Colman's Church. One of these (TR1) carried four Pictish symbols, a second (TR2) had snake-headed interlace
Interlace (visual arts)
In the visual arts, interlace is a decorative element found in medieval art. In interlace, bands or portions of other motifs are looped, braided, and knotted in complex geometric patterns, often to fill a space. Islamic interlace patterns and Celtic knotwork share similar patterns, suggesting a...
. A third (TR10, 20), features images of a complex beast and a row of apostles carrying books. This same stone originally carried along one edge a Latin inscription,
IN NOMINE IHU XRI CRUX XRI IN COMMEMORATIONE REO... LII... DIE HAC...commemorating an unknown person. The fourth cross was covered in spiral and interlace ornament. Another large fragment, the so-called Boar Stone, has been identified as a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
lid with images of a boar and a wolf-like creature. Yet another fragment, the so-called Calf Stone, appears to belong to a shrine or screen. It depicts a bull and a cow tending to their calf. Other pieces from Portmahomack have been recognised as grave markers, incised with simple crosses. These are comparable to examples known from Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
and other early Christian sites in Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
and western Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Much of the Portmahomack sculpture has been assigned by radiocarbon dating of the layer in which it was found to the 8th century. Artistically, it has points of contact with sculpture in Iona and Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
, but its closest affiliation is with the great cross-slabs on other parts of the Tarbat peninsula, namely those at Hilton of Cadboll
Hilton of Cadboll
Hilton of Cadboll, or simply Hilton, is a village about southeast of Tain in Easter Ross, is in the Scottish council area of Highland It is famous for the Hilton of Cadboll Stone....
, Shandwick
Shandwick
Shandwick , a village near Tain in Easter Ross, and is in the Scottish council area of Highland, Scotland.Hilton, Balintore, and Shandwick are known collectively as the Seaboard Villages. It is well-known because of the nearby Clach a' Charridh or Shandwick Stone, a Class II Pictish stone.-External...
and Nigg
Nigg
-Places:Antarctica* Nigg RockScotland* Nigg, Aberdeen* Nigg, Highland, a village in Easter Ross, Highland; on Nigg Bay, in the Cromarty Firth-See also:* Nigg Stone, a Pictish carved stone in Easter Ross* Nigga, a hip-hop term.* Nigger, a racial slur....
, which one may perhaps assume were created by a school of masons centred on Tarbat. Together they demonstrate that the Tarbat peninsula was a prime centre of 8th-century European art.
The collection also includes a number of architectural pieces which are likely to have adorned an early stone church, including a probable label-stop and a gable finial. This collection, not yet fully published, is probably the most extensive to survive from early medieval Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.