VOLUME I.

FRONTISPIECE. View of Avebury, from a drawing by the Author, made in 1856. For Plans of Avebury see Plates VIII. XVII. XVIII. and Index-" Avebury."

TITLE-PAGE. View of Silbury. The great artificial mount which forms part of the General Plan of Avebury. See Index"Avebury" and "Silbury."

PLATES I. II. III. IV. and V. These five plates contain examples of the most remarkable figures that appear sculptured on rude stone monuments scattered over the eastern and northern districts of Scotland. With few and unimportant exceptions, monuments with these figures are confined to the country which was occupied by the Celtic tribes called Cruithne-the Picts of the classical authors and early Scottish history. On the eastern and northern lowlands of Scotland, from the Forth to the Orkney Islands, these sculptures are found, but in greatest numbers within the districts between the rivers Dee and Spey.

These figures are in this work considered as pagan symbols ---for there is every reason to conclude that the most important of them originated and were in use before the introduction of a Christianity which tolerated many pagan devices. In a material form this fact appears in these sculptures where the heathen emblems are seen in combination with the cross. In some monuments the cross is on one side, and the emblems are on the other side of the stone; but more frequently the cross is surrounded, and in some cases surmounted, by heathen symbols.1

For the sake of brevity, the sculptures of which the cross forms an original part of the design are, in these descriptions, termed Christian, the others are called heathen; as also are the figures found on the opposite side of the stone from a cross. The sculptures where there are no crosses are generally graven

1 As in Plates XLVII. and CVI. of Sculptured Stones of Scotland, Spalding Club.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

XV

on rude upright stones and boulders which show no signs of the mason's art except these sculptures.

Plate I. (III.) The Double Disc. This figure is most common on rude boulders or unhewn stones, but also appears in sculptures along with the cross.1 See pp. 397-402.

(III.) Double Disc and Sceptre. This, the most common of the Caledonian hieroglyphics, is found in many sculptures, both heathen and Christian. See Plates XLVIII. LII ; see also pp.

397-402.

3

(IV.) The Crescent is found both in heathen and Christian monuments. See Plate L. and pp. 402-407.

4

(IV.) The Crescent and Sceptre is nearly as common on the sculptured stones as the double disc and sceptre. See also Plate L. and pp. 402-407.

(CXXXVIII. and XVII.) The Mirror or Mirror-Case is very common on rude monuments, and also along with the cross.5 It is difficult to distinguish between the mirror and the mirrorcase. It would seem that their value was equal, and that as emblems they were indiscriminately employed.

(XCII. CXII. XVII. and CXXXVIII.) The Comb and Comb-Cas26 The same remarks are applicable to these figures as to the mirror and mirror-case. The mirror or mirror-case, and the comb or comb-case, almost invariably appear together in the same sculpture. What is here termed a comb-case has been generally called a book. Although very similar, these figures can be distinguished from each other-the comb-case being generally found along with the mirror, whilst the book is always placed in the hands of ecclesiastics. See Plate LV. and pp. 430-432.

In one of the compartments of an elaborate sculpture (vol. i. Plate XXV. of the Spalding Club work) a hunting-scene is represented, on the uppermost corner of which the mirror and comb-case appear over and in front of the principal figure, as if they were emblems of his tutelary deity. The appearance of

7 heathen, 2 Christian 233 heathen, 1 Christian. 33 heathen, 1 Christian.

6

32 heathen, 5 Christian.

25 heathen, 6 Christian.

18 heathen, 2 Christian.

these emblems, where all the figures are men on horseback, is opposed to a common opinion-viz. that the mirror and comb-case were found only on female monuments. In a hunting-scene sculptured on another monument (Spalding Club, vol. i. Plate XLVI.) the double disc and sceptre appear in nearly the same relative position to the principal mounted figure as the mirror and comb in Plate XXV. This gives support to the suggestion that these emblems may represent the tutelary deity of the person over whom they are placed.

(XV. and XIII.) The Fire-Altar.1 The figures here termed fire-altars are always in the sculptures placed upright. Those with, as well as those without the bird, are only found on heathen monuments, although in connection with the cross there appears a figure, sometimes called the balance, which is probably designed to represent the fire-altar. See Plate LIII. and pp. 402, 417-420.

(CII. and CIX.) The Brooch is found both on Christian and on heathen monuments.

There are figures which, although nearly of the same form as the brooch, are yet without the lines that extend between the two external rings, and are more likely to be a variety of the mirror and mirror-case than of the brooch.

(CXIII.) The Circular Figure on a Stand3 is most common on heathen monuments. See Plate V. and p. 420.

(CXXXVIII. and CVIII.) The Horse-Shoe Arch, although a common emblem on heathen monuments, has not yet been found in any sculpture along with the cross. The arch is always represented upright. See also Plate LIV. and pp. 422

425.

(XXXIX. and CIX.)

The Elephant. This remarkable figure is of common occurrence both on heathen monuments and in sculptures along with the cross. In a cave at East Wemyss the elephant is seen sculptured on the rock in the same design with the goose. See also Plate LI. and pp. 415-417.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

xvii

(xv.). The Hawk1 is found both on Christian and on heathen monuments. In Plate III. will be seen (CVIII.) a figure which may either represent the hawk, less correctly and more elaborately executed, or some other kind of bird. See pp. 443, 444.

(XVII. and VI. of Plate I., and xxx11. and xXXVII. of Plate III.) The Fish? The two figures in Plate I. seem mythological, and not intended to represent real fish. The fish, although common in the heathen, is rare in the Christian sculptures, in one of which, however (Spalding Club, vol. i. LXIX.), it appears preyed on by a bird. See Plate LIV. and pp. 425

430.

(CXII.) The Sword in the Scabbard3 is found both on Christian and on heathen monuments, the end being always square. Pp. 444, 445.

Plate II. (CXXXVIII.) Human Figure with Dog's Head.*

This figure appears on a stone by itself; but on a Christian monument (Spalding Club, vol. i. CXVIII.) there are several indistinct figures of a similar form. Pp. 441, 442.

(LXXXIII.) The Serpent 5 is common both on heathen and on Christian sculptures. See also Plate LI. and pp. 402, 407

415.

6

on

(LXVII.) The Serpent and Sceptre are more common heathen, but are also found on Christian sculptures. See also Plate LI. and pp. 402, 407-415.

(XL. and XCII.) The Flower or Plant is found both in Christian and in heathen sculptures. See also Plate LVI. and pp. 440, 441.

(CXXXIII. of Plate II. and LXXIII. of Plate IV.) The Dog's Heads Since the body of this work was sent to press a figure exactly similar to that of CXXXIII. has been discovered cut in the rock of a cave at East Wemyss; and it is a fact of some importance that in this case the dog's head is in combination

with the double disc and sceptre. See also Plate LVI. and pp. 441, 442.

(XLI.) The Triangle is found only on one, a heathen sculptured stone, and even there is not well defined. LXXIII. may

be an embellishment of the triangle. See p. 447.

(x.) The Circle enclosing three Circles and three Triangles is a single example, and appears on a heathen monument along with the crescent and sceptre. See also Plate XLVII. and p. 420. (CXIV.) The Horse. Many horses appear on the sculptured stones, but this is the only one without a rider or trappings, and with the peculiar marks which this bears. This is the only figure on the stone. A horse without rider or special marks appears cut in the rock of a cave at East Wemyss. See also Plate LVI. and pp. 432-435.

(XXXVIII.) The Boar. This figure is cut on a rude boulder, on which faint remains of the double-disc emblem may be traced. The boar is found in sculptures along with the cross. See also Plate LVI. and p. 437.

(XXXVIII. and LXXVII.) The Bull. These are heathen sculptures, but cattle with the same peculiar marks as in XXXVIII. appear in Christian religious processions, as in cx. Plate IV. and in vol. i. Spalding Club, LXX., where the cattle are apparently intended for sacrifice. See Plate LVI. and pp. 435

437.

Plate III. (CVIII.) The Bird and (XXXII. and XXXVII.) The Fish are referred to above in Plate I.

(LXXIV. and LXXXIV.) The Centaur. There are two sculptures in which the centaur appears bearing the bough of a tree. There are three sculptures in which the centaur is found. also Plate LVI. and pp. 442, 443.

See

(XLIII.) Bird's Head on Human Figure. These monsters are in a Christian sculpture. See also Plate LVI. and p. 438. (XIV. XL. and LXXIII.) The Hippocampus. These figures are in Christian sculptures. See also Plate I.VI. and p. 439.

(LXXVII.) Peculiar form of Fish. A single example. (LXXVII. and XIV.) Serpents. The two serpents a single example--and no other figure on the same stone. The other is on a monument partly Christian. See pp. 402, 407-415.