Ornament of cannel coal

Add to album

This cannel coal ornament was found at Law Hill in Dundee in Angus. Its shape closely resembles that of a gold belt hook from a rich 2nd millennium BC grave in Wessex, southern England.

The plaque is decorated with three deeply cut grooves around the edges of its upper surface. In two places the guidelines used by the craftsman are still visible. On the back there is a large V-shaped hole, indicating that it had been sewn into a garment.

This is an example of a Scottish-made object emulating a prestigious southern English fashion item. Other examples are known, made from bone. Cannel coal was a local substitute for jet, a prestigious north British material from around Whitby in Yorkshire.

Record details

To search on related items, click any underlined text below.

• Online ID: 000-100-035-773-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.EQ 210
• Date: Between 2050 and 1700 BC
  
• Material: Jet; square; incised lines round margin on upper side
  Plaque
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Plaque
  
• Subject:
• Who: Sturrock Collection
  
• Where: Scotland, Angus, Dundee, Law Hill
  
• Event:
• Description: Jet plaque from Law Hill, Dundee
  
• References:
  • Clarke, D.V., Cowie, T.G., & Foxon, Andrew (eds). Symbols of power at the time of Stonehenge. Edinburgh: National Museums of Antiquities of Scotland, 1985, pp 208-9, 283. 
• Translations:
• Related Records: