Cup

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This cup was found at Sty Wick Bay on Sanday in Orkney. It was made from a vertebra (a segment of the spinal column) of a fish or sea mammal, such as a dolphin or whale, sometime between 200 BC and 400 AD.

Cetacean vertebra cup with hole in bottom, from Stacwick Bay, Sanday

People collected bone from stranded carcasses of whales, porpoises and dolphins. In the largely treeless north and west, these bones used as a substitute for wood. They were strong, dense and resilient, and, in the case of whalebones, came in very large sizes.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-180-001-314-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
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• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.GA 959
• Date: Between 200 BC and 400 AD
  
• Material: Bone, vertebra, cetacean; with hole in bottom
  
• Dimensions: 5.00" H x 5.25" approx D
  
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• Where: Scotland, Orkney, Sanday, Stacwick Bay
  
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