Archeology experts stumbled upon a rare stone carved with ancient symbols belonging to the Pictish culture. The artifact was unearthed just near Scotland's most popular old-English monument site.
Aberlemno Slabs in Forfar
Only 200 Pictish symbol stones are known to exist
The stone, measuring 1.7 meters in length, was excavated from a farmer's field. The study surrounding the artifact was led by scholars from the University of Aberdeen as they were conducting a larger examination around the remains of the Pictish settlements buried throughout the terrains of Aberlemno within the region of Forfar.
Comparative Kingship project expert and lead Gordon Noble explained that digging up the stone was purely coincidental, and the unique find surprised their team.
Coming across the unexpected relic through digging just a small test pit was momentous, and no one in the team was able to tell how fortunate they were on encountering such an important object, Noble continued.
Aberlemno is well-known across the archaeological community for the ancient Pictish heritage it hides. Among the most popular finds from the area are the Pictish standing stones. These slabs were chiseled with figures of what might have depicted the country's most important war known as the Battle of Nechtansmere, which occurred in the 7th century, and served as a crucial event for the foundation of modern-day Scotland.
The latest Pictish discovery was part of a Leverhulme Trust-funded research in 2020 focused on geophysical surveys. The project's main interest is to gain more knowledge about the past of the already-existing stones, DailyMail reports.
During the studies on the area, they utilized advanced imaging techniques to have a glimpse of relics still hidden underneath the landscapes. What they found were certain oddities that might be included in previous settlements of the particular English culture.
Before starting a major excavation, the experts initially dug a test pit, in which they immediately discovered the Pictish stone with a symbol on it.
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Latest Relic to Aberlemno's Pictish Collection
Research fellow James O'Driscoll, who was among the first to detect the object, explained that their team first thought they would unearth just standard specimens but was surprised when the rare, symbol-carved object showed itself on the site.
As they uncovered the stone, other symbols appeared, making some of the team cheer and cry. Driscoll said he had an emotion during the moment that might not be felt again in a site.
Due to the strict public health protocols of the pandemic, the project was halted for a short time but was able to carry on later in 2020. The stone dates around the fifth to the late sixth century. Until recently, the team was able to lift the artifact from its original placement for further analysis.
Similar to the initial finds in Aberlemno, the latest discovery was carefully etched with detailed Pictish symbols. There are still ongoing studies for what these abstract figures meant. The new stone was drawn with images of a comb, a mirror, double discs, triple ovals, a crescent, and a rod. The art seems to overlay its symbols with one another, suggesting that the carving was done in various periods.
The Pictish stone will be shipped to Edinburgh's Graciela Ainsworth conservation facility, where further studies will be carried out for the relic.
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