Sculptor's Cave

Twin entrances to the Sculptor's Cave

The Sculptor's Cave is a sandstone cave on the south shore of the Moray Firth in Scotland, near the small settlement of Covesea, between Burghead and Lossiemouth in Moray.[1] It is named after the Pictish carvings incised on the walls of the cave near its entrances.[2] There are seven groups of carvings dating from the 6th or 7th century, including fish, crescent and V-rod, pentacle, triple oval, step, rectangle, disc and rectangle, flower, and mirror patterns,[3] some very basic but others more sophisticated.[4]

The cave is 20m deep and 13.5m wide with a 5.5m high roof and can be entered by two parallel 11m long passages, each 2-3m wide.[5] It lies at the base of 30m high cliffs and is largely inaccessible at high tide.[6]

The cave was first excavated between 1928 and 1930 by Sylvia Benton, who discovered evidence of two main periods of activity on the site: the first during the late Bronze Age, and the second during the late Roman Iron Age, between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ "Sculptor's Cave, Covesea". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ^ "SCULPTORS' CAVE, COVESEA". Moray Historic Environment Record. Aberdeenishire Council. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Covesea Description of stone". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  4. ^ Shepherd 1993, p. 81.
  5. ^ Armit et al. 2011, p. 254.
  6. ^ a b Armit et al. 2011, p. 251.

References

  • Armit, Ian; Schulting, Rick; Knüsel, Christopher J.; Shepherd, Ian A.G. (2011). "Death, Decapitation and Display? The Bronze and Iron Age Human Remains from the Sculptor's Cave, Covesea, North-east Scotland". Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 77: 251–278. doi:10.1017/S0079497X00000694. S2CID 128421586. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  • Shepherd, Ian A. G. (1993). "The Picts in Moray". In Sellar, W. David H. (ed.). Moray: Province and People. Scottish Society for Northern Studies. pp. 75–90. ISBN 0950599476.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Pictish sculptured stones
Caithness
  • Ackergill
  • Birkle Hill
  • Crosskirk
  • Latheron
  • Sandside
  • Skinnet
  • Ulbster
  • Watenan
Ross
Badenoch and Strathspey
  • Advie Stone
  • Ballintomb Stone
  • Congash Stones
  • Dunachton Stone
  • Findlarig Stone
  • Grantown Stone
  • Inverallan Stone
  • Lynchurn Stone
Moray
Inverness
  • Balbair Stones
  • Culaird Stone
  • Dores Stone
  • Drumbuie Stone
  • Garbeg Stone
  • Invereen Stone
  • Kingsmills Stone
  • Knocknagael Stone
  • Lochardill Stone
  • Torgorm Stone
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire
AngusPerth and KinrossFife
Orkney
  • Brough of Birsay
  • Greens
  • Knowe of Burrian
Shetland
  • Breck of Hillwell
  • Cunningsburgh

57°43′07″N 3°23′11″W / 57.7187°N 3.3864°W / 57.7187; -3.3864


Stub icon

This Moray location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e