Steatite urn

This steatite urn was found on Shapinsay in Orkney. It was used to hold cremated remains, sometime between 1850 and 1200 BC. Since steatite does not outcrop in Orkney, the urn must have been imported from Shetland.

The urn has been carved with two grooves near the rim and has been pierced with a number of holes. It is partly reconstructed.

Inhabitants of the Northern Isles had their own distinctive funerary customs during the 2nd millennium BC, burying their dead in distinctive pots. Cremation took place close to the grave, with the remains gathered into urns or put straight into the grave.

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