Road Workers Unearth Pictish Carving in Scotland

News November 2, 2017

(Perth & Kinross Council)
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Scotland Pictish carving
(Perth & Kinross Council)

PERTH, SCOTLAND—Road crews in central Scotland discovered a possible Pictish carving of a fierce warrior, according to a report in The Scotsman. Wear to the stone has obscured some of the image, but the front of the warrior’s scalp appears to have been shaved, and he seems to have a grotesque face, as seen in other Pictish carvings, with a large nose. The warrior appears to be wearing a cloak and shoes, and holding a spear and a club. The image may have signified the presence of a powerful Pictish noble living in the area some 1,500 years ago and served as a warning to travelers entering his territory. No Pictish sites have been found in the area to date, however. Mark Hall of Perth Museum and Art Gallery said the carving is the first of its kind to have been found in the Perth and Kinross area. For more on Pictish carvings, go to “Game of Stones.”

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