Ballachulish figure

Last updated

The Ballachulish Figure
Ballachulish figure.jpg
The Ballachulish figure in the National Museum of Scotland
Material Alder, with quartz pebble eyes.
Long145mm
Height1390mm
Width190mm
Createdc.600 BC
Discovered Ballachulish, Nether Lochaber, Scotland
Present location National Museum of Scotland
NMS website entry

The Ballachulish figure is a carved wooden sculpture, dated to c.600BC, which was discovered in North Ballachulish, at the west of Loch Leven in Scotland in 1880, and is the only one of its kind to have been found in Scotland. [1]

Contents

Description

The figure is assumed to be of a young girl or woman, holding items in her hands. The figure is around five feet tall, and is made of alder, [1] although initial accounts of its discovery notes it as being oak. [2] The eyes are made of quartz pebbles. [1]

Due to the manner in which it was stored before being transferred to the museum, the wood became warped and cracked, and her appearance now is greatly different from when she was discovered. Her purpose is not known, although she is sometimes described the Ballachulish Goddess, [3] or supposed to be some kind of fertility Goddess, [4] and some modern popular descriptions have posited a connection to the Celtic Cailleach Bheur. [5] [6]

Discovery

The figure was uncovered in November 1880, during digging work being carried out in the grounds of the Reverend J.R.A. Chinnery Haldane, Dean of Argyll. [7] The figure was laid face down, under four and a half feet of peat, surrounded by wicker-like work, and on the site of a raised beach, suggesting that it originally stood by the edge of the loch. [7]

Minister for the parish of Ballachulish and archaeologist Reverend Alexander Steuart wrote an account of the figure's discovery in The Inverness Courier in December 1880, and when the important nature of the figure became apparent, asked Sir Robert Christison, of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, to undertake further research and study. [7] Mr Chinnery Haldane, upon whose land the figure was discovered, gifted the figure to the Society's Museum [7] and precursor of the National Museum of Scotland, then named the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. Robert Christison published his findings in the Society's journal in November 1881. [7]

The figure suffered some damage during transportation to Edinburgh, and upon arrival was found to be snapped at the ankles. [7] Although the peat water had preserved the figure, problems with conservation in the period following her discovery (the figure was allowed to dry out) resulted in cracking and warping. [4]

Origins

A contemporary account of the discovery was given in The Inverness Courier , on 9 December 1880, by minister for the parish of Ballachulish and archaeologist Reverend Alexander Steuart, who thought it to be a representation of an ancient Scandinavian deity. [7] However, in 1967, Dr Anne Ross suggested that it was of Celtic origin. [8]

In 1970, the figure was estimated to date from the 1st century BC or before, however radiocarbon dating carried out in 1990 suggested that it was in fact much older, at 540 +/- 70 BC. [2]

Although similar figures have been found in Europe, and elsewhere in Britain, the Ballachulish figure is the only one of its kind to have been found in Scotland. [1]

Current location

The Ballachulish figure is on permanent display in the Early Peoples section of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crannog</span> Prehistoric lake dwelling

A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built on the shores and not inundated until later, crannogs were built in the water, thus forming artificial islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochaber</span> Ward management area of the Highland Council

Lochaber is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a district called Nether Lochaber, to beyond Spean Bridge and Roybridge, which area is known as Brae Lochaber or Braigh Loch Abar in Gaelic. For local government purposes, the name was used for one of the landward districts of Inverness-shire from 1930 to 1975, and then for one of the districts of the Highland region from 1975 to 1996. Since 1996 the Highland Council has had a Lochaber area committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pictish stone</span> Monuments erected by early Scottish tribes

A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are the most visible remaining evidence of the Picts and are thought to date from the 6th to 9th century, a period during which the Picts became Christianized. The earlier stones have no parallels from the rest of the British Isles, but the later forms are variations within a wider Insular tradition of monumental stones such as high crosses. About 350 objects classified as Pictish stones have survived, the earlier examples of which holding by far the greatest number of surviving examples of the mysterious symbols, which have long intrigued scholars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilmartin Glen</span> British Neolithic monument site

Kilmartin Glen is an area in Argyll north of Knapdale. It has the most important concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in mainland Scotland. The glen is located between Oban and Lochgilphead, surrounding the village of Kilmartin. In the village, Kilmartin Museum explains the stories of this ancient landscape and the people who dwelt there. There are more than 800 ancient monuments within a six-mile (ten-kilometre) radius of the village, with 150 monuments being prehistoric. Monuments include standing stones, a henge monument, numerous cists, and a "linear cemetery" comprising five burial cairns. Several of these, as well as many natural rocks, are decorated with cup and ring marks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linlithgow</span> Town in Scotland

Linlithgow is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edinburgh and Falkirk beside Linlithgow Loch. The town is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eilean Munde</span> Uninhabited Island in Scotland

Eilean Munde is a small uninhabited island in Loch Leven, close to Ballachulish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eassie Stone</span>

The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone of about the mid 8th century AD in the village of Eassie, Angus, Scotland. The stone was found in Eassie burn in the late 18th century and now resides in a purpose-built perspex building in the ruined Eassie church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of prehistoric Scotland</span>

This timeline of prehistoric Scotland is a chronologically ordered list of important archaeological sites in Scotland and of major events affecting Scotland's human inhabitants and culture during the prehistoric period. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland. Prehistory in Scotland ends with the arrival of the Romans in southern Scotland in the 1st century AD and the beginning of written records. The archaeological sites and events listed are the earliest examples or among the most notable of their type.

Headland Archaeology Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RSK Group. Headland provides archaeological services and heritage advice to the construction industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiskavaig</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Fiskavaig or Fiscavaig is a picturesque crofting settlement on the north-west shore of the Minginish peninsula, Isle of Skye in the Highland Council area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Ness</span> Lake in Scotland, United Kingdom

Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to the high peat content of the surrounding soil. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inverness-shire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Inverness-shire or the County of Inverness, is a historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Highlands and some of the Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county by land area. It is generally rural and sparsely populated, containing only three towns which held burgh status, being Inverness, Fort William and Kingussie. The county is crossed by the Great Glen, which contains Loch Ness and separates the Grampian Mountains to the south-east from the Northwest Highlands. The county also includes Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in both Scotland and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodwrae Stone</span>

The Woodwrae Stone is a Class II Pictish Stone that was found in 1819 when the foundations of the old castle at Woodwrae, Angus, Scotland were cleared. It had been reused as a floor slab in the kitchen of the castle. Following its removal from the castle, it was donated to the collection of Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford House. It is now on display at the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broddenbjerg idol</span> 5th-century BC wood figure found in Denmark

The Broddenbjerg idol is a wooden ithyphallic figure found in a bog at Broddenbjerg, near Viborg, Denmark and now in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. It is dated to approximately 535–520 BCE.

The Inverarnan Canal was a short length of canal terminating at Garbal, close to the hamlet of Inverarnan, Scotland. This waterway once linked the old coaching inn, now the Drovers Inn, at Inverarnan, on the Allt Arnan Burn to the River Falloch and passengers could continue southward to Loch Lomond and finally to Balloch. From Inverarnan stagecoaches ran to various destinations in the north of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duror</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Duror, occasionally Duror of Appin, is a small, remote coastal village that sits at the base of Glen Duror, in district of Appin, in the Scottish West Highlands, within the council area of Argyll and Bute in Scotland. Duror is known for the first building of the Telford Parliamentary churches by the Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, Thomas Telford, from 1826, the first in a series of 32, built in Scotland. William Thomson was the architect. Duror is the location of the famous Appin Murder. Although no direct evidence for this connection exists, the murder event and the kidnap of James Annesley, supposedly provided the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson writing the novel Kidnapped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barhapple Loch</span> Freshwater loch in Glen Luce, Wigtonshire

Barhapple Loch is a small semicircular freshwater loch located in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. Barhapple Loch is principally known for the discovery of a Crannog in 1878 on the loch, when it was drained.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch nam Bonnach</span> Mountain loch in the Highland council area of Scotland

Loch nam Bonnach is a remote mountain loch, situated on the edge of Farley Wood in the Highland council area of Scotland. The nearest settlement to it is Ardnagrask, a small crofting community 2.1 miles to the east—although it is more typically accessed via the forestry tracks leading from nearby Beauly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Christison</span> Scottish physician, botanist, writer and antiquary

David Christison FRCPE LLD was a Scottish physician, botanist, writer and antiquary. He served as a military doctor during the Crimean War, at which time, owing to illness, he abandoned his medical career. From the 1860s onwards Christison travelled extensively in South America and became a travel writer, publishing an account of his journeys within Paraguay, and other books on topics relating to that country. He also turned to archaeology in which, through his interest in botany, he made advances in the science of dendrochronology. He became a pioneer of systematic field study in archaeological research and was one of the first to carry out an extensive investigation of Scotland's ancient hillforts, writing and publishing extensively on the topic in later life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adabrock Hoard</span> Cache of Late Bronze Age artefacts from Scotland

The Adabrock Hoard is a collection of Late Bronze Age artefacts deposited at Adabroc, Isle of Lewis, Scotland around 1000-800 BC. The artefacts comprise two bronze socketed axeheads, a spearhead, a gouge, a hammer, three razors, as well as fragments of decorated bronze vessel, two whetstones and beads of glass, amber and gold. The hoard was discovered in peat, at a depth of 9–10 feet, by Donald Murray in May 1910. The hoard was acquired shortly after discovery by the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and is accessioned as X.DQ 211-227.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 History, Scottish; read, Archaeology 2 min. "Ballachulish figure". National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 2 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 "Ballachulish Moss | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  3. "Who was the 2,500-year-old Ballachulish Goddess?". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 "The Ballachulish Figure - ARCH Highland". www.archhighland.org.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  5. "Game of Thrones: The real historic objects behind the dark fantasy". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  6. "Ballachulish Goddess - Early people - Scotland's History". www.sath.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Christison, Robert (30 November 1881). "On the Ancient Wooden Image, found in November last at Ballachulish Peat-Moss". Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 15: 158–178. ISSN   2056-743X.
  8. Ross, Anne (1992). Pagan Celtic Britain : studies in iconography and tradition (Revised ed.). London: Constable. ISBN   0-09-471780-X. OCLC   27923085.