Brooch

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This bronze brooch was found in a Viking boat grave at Machrins on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. It is of native Pictish manufacture, made in the late 9th or early 10th century. The grave, of a man buried with weapons and ornaments, may be later.

The form of the brooch, with its expanded terminals and original setting in the hoop, is typical of Pictish brooches. The pin is a later replacement, probably simpler and longer than the original.

Scandinavian settlers in Scotland frequently brought or imported their own ornaments and tools from Scandinavia. However, at the same time they also acquired native objects such as this one by looting or trading.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-036-347-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FC 189
• Date: Late 9th or early 10th century
  
• Material: With pin
  Brooch, penannular
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Brooch, penannular
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Argyll, Colonsay, Machrins
  
• Event:
• Description: Penannular brooch with pin, from Machrins, Colonsay, Argyll
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, p 90. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, p 196. 
• Translations:
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