Record

Brooches

< 1 of 1 > Back

from Langhills, Westerseat, Wick, Caithness

Postcard of Brooches.
000-000-099-763-C
© National Museums Scotland

Brooches

These two brass oval brooches were found in a stone cist at the top of a mound at Langhills at Westerseat near Wick in Caithness. They are a type worn by Scandinavian women between 900 and 1000, and may be from a poorly recorded grave.

This picture shows the sides of the brooches. It clearly shows the way the outermost, openwork shell with its protruding knobs sat on the inner shell. This inner shell was divided into panels around the outside and decorated with interlace patterns.

Oval brooches are a very distinctive form of Viking ornament. Few are found after 1000, in part due to changing dress fashions and in part due to conversion to Christianity, which resulted in no grave goods buried with the body.


Record details

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

Online ID: 000-000-099-763-C
Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
Project: 0036: Kiloran Bay Viking Burial (multimedia essay)
Project description | View all records in project
Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.IL 218
Date: 10th century
Between 900 and 1000
Material: Oval; bowl-shaped
Oval; bowl-shaped
Dimensions:
What: Brooch
Brooch
Subject:
Who:
Where: Scotland, Caithness, Wick, Langhills
Scotland, Caithness, Wick, Langhills
Event:
Description: Oval tortoise brooch with faint textile remains around pin fastener, from Langhills, 10th century
Oval tortoise brooch from Langhills
References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, p 68. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, pp 24-5. 
Translations:
Related Records:
< 1 of 1 > Back
 
Powered by Scran