Detail of a wooden carving of a female figure

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This is a detail of a wooden carving of a female figure, probably a goddess, found at Ballachulish in Inverness-shire. The figure was carved between 730 and 520 BC. This is how the figure looked when found, before drying to its current, distorted form.

When found, the carving on the Ballachulish figure was crisp and sharp, suggesting that it had not lain for long on the surface of the peat bog. The arms are defined by raised lines and shallow relief. The right hand holds a phallic object.

In use the figure was set upright, its base being driven into the ground. Bits of gravel are still stuck in the bottom of the figure, like soil in the tread of a shoe. As a final act of ritual the figure was buried in a marshy area, now a peat bog.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-001-100-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.KL 54
• Date: Between 730 and 520 BC
  Late Bronze Age, 725 - 500 BC
  
• Material: Wood, oak, with quartzite pebbles for eyes
  Carving / figure / female
  
• Dimensions: 1390 mm H x 145 mm L x 190 mm W
  
• What: Carving / figure / female
  
• Subject: Carved woodwork, painted ceilings (NMAS Classification)
  
• Who:
• Where: Inverness-shire, Nether Lochaber, Ballachulish
  
• Event:
• Description: Figure of a female in oak, the oldest human figure from Scotland, from Ballachulish, 725 - 500 BC
  
• References:
  • Lochaber' multimedia programme, NMS 1995 
• Translations:
• Related Records: