Brooch

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This brass oval brooch was found on Tiree in the Inner Hebrides with a pin and perhaps the pair to this brooch, apparently from a woman's grave. The burial dates from between 850 and 950.

Like many oval brooches of the period, this example was made from two shells. This picture shows the oval brooch from the side, with the outer shell sitting on the raised rim of the lower. The rim is decorated with interlace patterns.

Oval brooches are a good indication of Scandinavian settlement in Scotland. They are a style worn by Scandinavian women, but not by the native Picts or Scots. Some were brought with the settlers, while others may have been imported.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-002-102-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.IL 219
• Date: 10th century
  Between 850 and 950
  
• Material: Oval; bowl-shaped
  
• Dimensions: 4.50" x 2.75" x 1.50"
  
• What:
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Argyll, Tiree
  
• Event:
• Description: Oval brooch with textile remains on the reverse, from Tiree, 10th century
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, p 87. 
  • 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 63. 
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