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Jawbone of a porpoise

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found on St Ninian's Isle, Dunrossness, Shetland

Jawbone of a porpoise
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This lower part of a porpoise's jawbone was found in a hoard also containing 28 silver objects, placed in a box and buried on St Ninian's Isle at Dunrossness in Shetland sometime between 750 and 825. The hoard probably belonged to a Pictish chief.

The owners of the hoard placed the right-lower half of a mature porpoise's jawbone in the hoard. It has been stained green with copper-oxides. The bone is intact save for the teeth and a slight crack in the thinnest part of the bone.

The inclusion of part of the jawbone of a porpoise in a hoard which otherwise contained highly ornate and expensive metalwork has been the subject of some speculation. It must have had some symbolic meaning which is unclear to us today.

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