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Carved bone pin

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From Kerrera, near Oban, Argyll

Carved bone pin
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This bone pin was found on the island of Kerrera near Oban in Argyll. It was used as a dress pin or as a hairpin, sometime between 700 and 900. It is a fine example of an animal-headed Pictish pin.

The pin is 'hipped' (with a swelling part way down the shank, perhaps to stop it slipping). The finely carved animal's head, perhaps a horse, is set at right angles to the shank. It has short ears, an open mouth, and clearly defined teeth.

Bone pins are fairly common finds from Pictish sites, occurring in a range of sizes and decoration. Nevertheless, the same basic head shapes appear at widely distant Pictish sites in the Northern and Western Isles, and even on some Irish sites.

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