Filming Rome

By Dr Fraser Hunter, Principal Curator of Iron Age and Roman Collections

It’s not often I get an email asking if I’d like to be on telly – still rarer to get a chance to inflict my thoughts about the Romans on a mass audience! But an email out of the blue earlier this year led to a series of conversations with BBC Scotland, and eventually the decision to do a programme – Scotland: Rome’s Final Frontier, BBC2, Friday 7 Dec at 9pm (after the watershed – but don’t worry, it’s mostly family-friendly…).

So why the Romans? Well, they’re always a popular topic when I do talks or prepare exhibitions – but there are lots of misconceptions. “Were the Romans ever here?” “Didn’t they stay at Hadrian’s Wall?” “Didn’t the Scots chase them out of the country?” Some people love them – after all, much of our own society is modelled on the Roman world – but others hate them, and see them as imperialist aggressors. There’s a lot of (misplaced) pride in Scotland that the Romans couldn’t conquer us. But is that true? Or was it just not worth their effort?

It’s a fascinating story with so many different angles. There have been lots of new finds – like the hoards of Roman silver coins which we excavated on an Iron Age farm at Birnie, near Elgin, evidence of a Roman policy of gifts and bribes to keep the peace. There are also lots of new ideas – about life around the forts, about who these Romans actually were (very few came from Italy), and about what impact they had on the local populations, for example.

Hoard of coins found at Birnie.

We filmed some of the treasures in the National Museum of Scotland, both the well-known and the less familiar, and travelled the length of Scotland looking at some of the amazing Roman military sites which still survive – like Raedykes, near Stonehaven, where you can still see the banks and ditches of a Roman overnight camp, or the much-debated Burnswark, near Lockerbie, where two Roman siege camps hold the local hillfort in their grip. A real siege or a practice range? For me the evidence suggests it was real, but have a look on Friday and see what you think!

Burnswark from the air.

Eye in the sky at Burnswark.

Not all sites are so well-preserved. Underneath the modern village of Inveresk, south of Musselburgh, there was a Roman fort with a big civilian settlement around it – houses, workshops, bars, temples, cemeteries, the works. Almost nothing can be seen today – but thanks to whizzy computer graphics created by Dr Matthew Nicholls of Reading University we can show reconstructions, based on the latest archaeological evidence. These also allowed us to show the largest marching camp in the Roman world, at St Leonard’s, near Lauder, where the emperor Septimius Severus himself once slept when he was on campaign, guarded by some 40,000 men – today, it’s a field full of sheep. Or we could bring to life the results of our Birnie excavations, putting houses and hedges into our empty postholes and pits.

Filming the Inveresk reconstruction.

Filming in a field at St Leonard’s.

The crew setting up some technical wizardry.

The muddy glamour of TV work.

I was keen that we should shake up people’s views on the topic, and put it into a broader context. There are lots of parallels with modern empires – where the first world meets the third world, and doesn’t always come off best. Places like Afghanistan, for example. We had a really good chat with Major-General Andrew Mackay, who commanded British forces in Helmand. He gave us ways into the heads of soldiers as they try to conquer a country, or control an insurgency – and many of the problems and solutions haven’t changed much in 2000 years.

One of the most surprising aspects of Roman Scotland is the evidence from elsewhere in the empire which adds to our story. For me, the most amazing example comes from Morocco, where an arch in the ancient city of Volubilis commemorated the emperor Caracalla, the son of Severus, who led campaigns into Scotland. On this massive arch was a huge statue of the emperor – but all that survives is a fragment of bronze cloak. Carved into it is a picture of one of his enemies – a tartan-clad Caledonian, shown as a captive, a victim of Rome’s power. It’s a vivid example of how Rome saw her enemies – and it gives us a glimpse of the prehistory of tartan, with the complex checked patterns which lie behind our modern garb.

This makes a fantastic story. But I had an ulterior motive – for the arch was said to be decorated with sculptures featuring captured weaponry from the Caledonian campaigns. I’d been told these included a carnyx – the Iron Age animal-headed trumpet – but the available pictures were too shadowy to be certain. Now, we have a carnyx in our collections, from Deskford – one of the finest known. I’ve been studying it for 20 years, and did my PhD on it, but I’d never been able to confirm this example. At last, a trip to Morocco, a frantic search in the blazing sun while the film-crew drummed their fingers – and confirmation that there were carnyces here. A rather battered icon of Caledonia carved into the stones of the Moroccan desert. Another piece in the jigsaw fell into place. Sadly the director, Andy Twaddle, thought this was too nerdy for the viewing public – but it made me happy, and he was very tolerant of most of my other obsessions and suggestions.

The Volubilis arch.

The battered carnyx at Volubilis.

So why didn’t the Romans conquer Scotland? Too tough, or not worth the bother? Tune in on Friday to find out!

 

A major milestone in the Glenmorangie Research Project on Early Medieval Scotland

By Alice Blackwell, Glenmorangie Research Officer

Last week saw the culmination of years of research by myself and colleagues working on the Glenmorangie Research Project on Early Medieval Scotland, in the publication of a new book on the period: Early Medieval Scotland: Individuals, Communities and Ideas.

Early Medieval Scotland was a very vibrant and sophisticated place which produced some of the most exquisite objects in National Museums Scotland’s collections. This is the time of the Picts, the Gaels, the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons and, arguably more than anywhere else in Briton, Scotland was a melting pot for numerous different ideas, techniques and styles. This fusion of ideas was helped in great measure by the big new idea of the time – the introduction of Christianity to Scotland.

This period marks the end of pre-history, with the creation of the first written texts. But that doesn’t mean that archaeology doesn’t have its own stories to tell. Very few written documents survive, giving us only a partial and fragmented picture. Almost all were written outside of Scotland, meaning they can give us a one-sided picture. They are also limited in their interest – what they record and preserve for us tends to be focused on kings, battles and deaths.

When writing our book, we wanted to take a fresh look at the period and let the archaeology speak for itself. Every object has a number of different stories to tell, depending on which questions are asked of it. Because of this we decided to look at Early Medieval Scotland at three different scales: at an individual level first, to see what surviving objects could tell us about the people who made and used them.

Drawings on a slate found at Inchmarnock, off the coast of Bute.

The object above illustrates this nicely: it’s a doodle of some horses scratched onto a slate at a site called Inchmarnock, off the coast of Bute. It was likely to have been made by children, perhaps in a bored moment during their monastic schooling.

The next perspective looks at communities, thinking about the different groups of people that made up Early Medieval society. For instance, we look at Christian communities – because as far as we can tell, Christianity was the first religion to have formal and separate communities dedicated to it – and communities of craftspeople who created monuments of devotion like this piece of sculpture from Papil, Shetland (below).

Sculpture from Papil, Shetland.

Finally, we examined the bigger ideas and ideologies, the things that bound society together, and the ways in which objects were used to create and symbolise these important concepts and relationships, here illustrated by the corpus of massive silver chains (below). Massive because they are made from solid silver and can weigh up to 3 kg each: clearly these are extremely powerful objects capable of communicating big messages.

Massive silver chains.

A few teasers of new research you can find in the book include the hidden symbolism and protective qualities of many elaborate gold and silver brooches, such as the stunning Hunterston brooch.

The Hunterston brooch.

And find out why we think that a figure on the Hilton of Cadboll stone, long thought to have been a Pictish princess, may instead be one of the earliest depictions of Jesus from Scotland.

After years of research and writing, it’s a joy to see the book come to life. Its also a great opportunity to once again thank The Glennmorangie Company for their support over the last four years, without which our research just would not have been possible.

Early Medieval Scotland: Individuals, Communities and Ideas by David Clarke, Alice Blackwell and Martin Goldberg is published by National Museums Scotland and can be purchased from the online shop.

 

Past meets present: archaeology and contemporary art at the National Museum of Scotland

By Alice Blackwell, Glenmorangie Research Officer

As part of the Glenmorangie Research Project on Early Medieval Scotland, we have invited a series of speakers to come to Edinburgh and deliver a prestigious annual evening lecture at the National Museum of Scotland. The rationale behind the Glenmorangie Annual Lecture series is to explore the points of contact between the disciplines of archaeology and contemporary art.

The Museum has a strong history of exploring these connections: the archaeology gallery, Early People, which opened in 1998, is home to two major collections of contemporary art. The first is a series of imposing bronzes by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi in the form of abstract – almost robotic – figures that form an avenue leading into the gallery.

Paolozzi sculptures leading into the Early People gallery.

Their presence emphasises that people lie behind everything we do as a museum, behind all the objects in our collections, but that despite our best attempts to connect them through archaeological remains people in the past will always remain shadowy figures.

The bronze figures are grouped into four sets, reflecting the four themes of the gallery itself: a generous land, exploring natural resources; wider horizons, tracing the movement of objects, ideas and people; them and us, exposing the central role of power and status; and in touch with the gods, delving into worlds of belief, superstition and religion. The Paolozzi figures also function as display cases, wearing objects from Scotland’s past, showing people how and where on the body they would have been worn.

Paolozzi statue ‘wearing’ the Westness brooch in the Early People gallery.

Paolozzi figures representing the theme of ‘Them and us’.

The second collection of contemporary art housed in Early People is by the internationally-acclaimed artist Andy Goldsworthy. He kindly accepted our invitation to deliver the inaugural Glenmorangie Annual Lecture, and gave a fascinating talk that held the evening’s audience spell-bound – you can view the hour-long film for yourself here.

Goldsworthy’s cracked clay walls, slate structures and whale bone ball are juxtaposed with archaeological objects, some thousands of years old, made from those very same natural resources.

Andy Goldsworthy’s whale bone ball in the Early People gallery.

The gallery asks people to challenge the use – now and in the past – of these natural bounties. My favourite of the Goldsworthy pieces within Early People is the slate structure: reminiscent of a round house, it brings to mind the sense of standing inside a domestic space.

Slate walls in the Early People gallery, by Andy Goldsworthy.

Contained within are objects relating to the finding, processing and consuming of food and drink. A burnt patch in the middle of this part of the gallery invokes the ghost of the hearth, focal point of the home.

It seemed a natural step to invite Andy Goldsworthy to deliver the inaugural Glenmorangie Annual Lecture, and to further explore the rich potential for dialogue between art in the past and present. We asked him to explore one of the main research themes of the project’s archaeological research to date – colour. Although colour is an important aspect of his practice – think of the deep warmth of the dried clay walls in Early People – he said that this was the first occasion he had to reflect on it as a discrete topic.

Clay wall in the Early People gallery, by Andy Goldsworthy.

For archaeologists, colour is fundamentally important to understanding the past. However, it is also often fragile, wont to fade, to dull, or to decay away altogether. The naturally-coloured clay walls in Early People bring to mind the richness that could be achieved through natural pigments alone; in the museum environment they are kept fresh and bright and provide a hint of what does not survive from the past.

During the Glenmorangie Annual Lecture Andy Goldsworthy spoke eloquently about his temporary works of art: vibrant and fleeting pieces, often created outside to last only as long as the frost on a winter’s day. These pieces in particular brought home the range and use of natural coloured materials – the palette of Autumn leaves for instance.

This first Glenmorangie Annual Lecture was a huge success – a sell-out, and a fascinating and intellectually stimulating evening. The incorporation of contemporary art within an archaeology gallery was a deliberate and bold step, and one which I greatly admire. So spread the word to your friends and family – come and explore the contemporary art in Early People for a chance to see some of the Museum’s hidden gems!

Look out over for an announcement in the next few months which will reveal the next of the series of speakers, and for a Spotlight talk by myself in September on the latest findings of the Glenmorangie Project’s research.

 

Bright eyes: recreating medieval sculpture

By Alice Blackwell, Glenmorangie Research Officer

I recently had the pleasure in taking part in a Pecha kucha evening as part of Edinburgh Science Festival, hosted by InSpace at the University of Edinburgh. If you haven’t heard of Pecha kucha before (and I hadn’t before the invitation arrived in my inbox), it’s a format for quick and informal presentations, derived from the Japanese term for the sound of chit-chat. The prospect was a little nerve-wracking: speakers present using twenty slides that are automatically timed to be displayed for just twenty seconds each… you have no control and no room for waffling! But on the night it turned out to be easier than it sounds and all involved had a great evening. Speakers from across the museum gave snapshots of their research, from underwater animals, to airshows, to Iron Age archaeology.

My Pecha kucha was about research on early medieval sculpture, undertaken as part of the Glenmorangie Project on Early Medieval Scotland. I’m particularly interested in trying to reconstruct how these archaeological stone treasures would have looked when newly made, around 1200 years ago. This worn and broken piece of sculpture was found built into a garden wall in Aberlady, East Lothian in 1863.

Fragment of sculpture found in Aberlady, East Lothian.

Fragment of sculpture found in Aberlady, East Lothian.

It certainly has suffered the ravages of time and Scottish weather. It is part of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross – originally it would have been a tall and very impressive monument. The first step in reconstructing what it would have originally looked like therefore means thinking about scale. This full-size reconstruction, now standing in the village of Aberlady, gives some idea of the impact such a monument would have had.

Full-size reproduction of the cross at Aberlady.

Like many pieces of Anglo-Saxon sculpture the decoration of the Aberlady cross features life-like birds, animals and people with small drill-holes for eyes. Scholars of Anglo-Saxon art have long suggested that these eye sockets would originally have looked very different: instead of being empty it has been assumed that they would have held small pieces of glass or semi-precious stones (such as amber). However, none survive – not a single piece of Anglo-Saxon sculpture from the whole of Britain has surviving eyes. So are these assumptions correct? Or were the creatures that decorate these important early medieval monuments intended to have (slightly unsettling) shadowy wells for eyes?

The original fragment from Aberlady is on display in the National Museum of Scotland’s Early People gallery. When it was temporarily removed to allow new photographs to be taken, I took the opportunity to have a thorough look at it. I thought I could see something in some of the drill holes, but thought surely it must just be dirt? With the enthusiastic help of colleagues in our Analytical Research division, we took a closer look.

Using a good microscope and a scientific technique called X-ray fluorescence (or XRF for short) we investigated some of the holes. XRF can tell us what things are made from – and in this instance it demonstrated that there was tin inside the most well-preserved eye sockets. Under strong magnification it became clear that we weren’t dealing with mere traces of tin, but an intact sheet of tin, lining the bottom and sides of the socket.

A close up look into one of the bird’s eye sockets.

Soft metals were often used on early medieval objects to hold decorative stone or glass pieces in place, and it seems that they were using the same technique on stone. This provides the first such evidence from Britain and crucially it helps us get one step closer to how the sculpture would originally have looked. A little bit of experimenting gives us an idea of the effect that could have been achieved.

An experiment to see how stone sculpture might have looked with glass eyes.

Just imagine the rising and setting sun glinting off beady-eyed creatures, crawling up a towering stone cross toward the sky. Anglo-Saxon sculpture, like this piece from Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, features some of the most life-like carvings of animals I’ve ever seen.

Carved slab found in Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders.

Because the Jedburgh slab is particularly well preserved, if you look closely it is still possible to see the fur on the back of this little mouse: just imagine him with bright, shiny eyes!

Close up of the Jedburgh mouse – imagine him with bright eyes!

You can find out more about the Glenmorangie Early History project here.

 

Archaeology – a dynamic Department

By Dr Alison Sheridan, Head of Early Prehistory, Department of Archaeology

September is Scottish Archaeology Month (SAM), an annual initiative co-ordinated by Archaeology Scotland. The National Museums Scotland Archaeology Department have been supporting SAM since its inception and this year was no exception. From Eday to Carsphairn and from Lewis to Dornoch, Archaeology curators have been sharing their expertise with the public in this nationwide celebration of Scotland’s archaeology. The whole initiative is driven by local groups, who send in requests for events and speakers. The Archaeology curators proved to be a popular choice!

The whole sweep of Scotland’s past was covered in the baker’s dozen of presentations by Alan Saville, Alison Sheridan, Trevor Cowie, Fraser Hunter, Alice Blackwell, Martin Goldberg and David Caldwell, with an additional guest appearance by ancient DNA expert Dr Oliver Craig of York University. From Mesolithic microliths to Jacobite muskets, and from Iron Age chariots to the latest in forensic archaeology, there was something for everyone, and the audiences were delighted!

Some of the audience for Alison Sheridan’s talk on Eday, including Eday Ranger Gillian Skuse (second from right), who organised the lecture.

To give just one example of how popular the events turned out to be, Trevor Cowie’s talk, ‘Dead Interesting: Bog Bodies from Scotland and beyond’, held at a community centre in Stornoway on 27 September, was a real success. Here, in Trevor’s words, is what happened:

“The organisers – Bostadh Archaeological Group – were expecting their usual turnout of around 12-15 and had arranged for their customary small meeting room. However just as the clock approached the 7.30pm start, the audience swelled to around 40-50 – a telling reflection of the enduring fascination with human remains among the public at large, even if it meant that conditions in the packed room became increasingly sauna-like as the evening went on.

“National Museums Scotland holds exceptionally well preserved clothing and other artefacts dating from c 1700 which were found with the remains of a male body on Arnish Moor near Stornoway in 1964 (currently in storage in the National Museums Collection Centre). As it is always nice to meet members of the public with a direct connection to significant discoveries, it was particularly pleasing afterwards to meet several members of the audience who were descendents of the two brothers who had found the body while peat cutting nearly half a century ago!”

Costume worn by ‘Arnish Man’.

Other audiences elsewhere were equally enthusiastic. Feedback sent to Archaeology Scotland’s Dr Mags McCartney includes the following:

“John and I just wanted to tell you how much David Caldwell’s talk was enjoyed by a small, but well-informed, audience last night.  Discussions continued long after he had left and particular interest was in Mons Meg, which was tested in Armadale in 1980…Thanks again for your help in organising the event.”

Rosie and John Wells, The History of Armadale Association, West Lothian

“We had a fascinating and informative lecture from Martin [Goldberg] on Thursday evening; everyone I spoke to said how much they had enjoyed it and been interested.  I think we would all be glad to hear in two or three years’ time how far he gets.”

Helma Reynolds, Cromarty History Society

David Caldwell addresses the History of Armadale Association.

Such ringing endorsements underline the vital outreach role played by National Museums Scotland Archaeology curators in disseminating the results of their research to the wider public. We’re already looking forward to doing it all over again in 2012!

 

All that glitters isn’t gold

By Alice Blackwell, Glenmorangie Research Officer

What a few weeks it has been! A little bit of everything, but nearly all of it involving silver, in one way or another.

I and my colleague Martin Goldberg, Curator of the museum’s Early Historic collections, were invited to Dublin to attend the opening of the National Museum of Ireland’s new ‘Treasury’ display. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to see a brand new display of Ireland’s best Early Historic collections. Among the stars are the silver Christian chalices from Ardagh and Derrynaflan. And while we were in Dublin we took the opportunity to visit the Book of Kells – not the first time for either of us, but such a special experience.

Curator Martin Goldberg explores the Treasury exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland.

Silver brooches and ingots in the Treasury exhibition at National Museum of Ireland.

Back in Edinburgh and we spent time with our colleagues in the Museum’s Conservation and Analytical Research department, continuing our research strand on Early Historic Scottish silver artefacts. Here you can see one of the massive silver chains being analysed. This piece of equipment can help us examine the composition of the silver, and build up a better understanding of how the use of silver changed over time.

A silver chain is analysed in the Conservation and Analytical Research department.

Part of the Traprain Law treasure.

Then, somewhat of a surprise, I found myself doing some family history research – looking into the life of the person who, in the early 19^thcentury, found one of Scotland’s most important Early Historic discoveries – the hoard of silver from Norrie’s Law in Fife. We’re working hard pulling together fragments of information about this hoard, trying to better understand how it was found, as well as improving our understanding of the objects themselves.

Silver from the Norrie's Law hoard.

I’ve also had the pleasure of a happy hour talking to silversmiths, colleagues in the museum, and international silver specialists, in order to try to get to the bottom of quite how some our surviving archaeological treasures were made. And next week I’ll be back in the laboratory with more silver objects, using a variety of pieces of equipment to test some of the theories that we came up with.

Silver chains.

Truly, silver is the new gold! Or, it might have been in the Early Historic period anyway.

 

Future research into Scotland’s past

By Alice Blackwell, Glenmorangie Research Officer

Great news!

We’re extremely pleased to announce that National Museums Scotland’s partnership with The Glenmorangie Company, which supports research into a formative period of Scotland’s past, will continue for a further three years.

The project is undertaking new research on Scotland during the Early Historic period, roughly AD 300–900. This period comes immediately before the first entity known as ‘Scotland’, and far from being a Dark Age these centuries were a vibrant time in Scotland’s past.

In a challenging economic climate, and with many cultural and public institutions facing funding uncertainty, this long-term support is a fantastic boost. The partnership is regarded as a model for how business can support culture and last year we won a coveted Arts and Business Scotland Award in recognition of our work together. Last week we beat stiff competition to win a prestigious national Hollis Sponsorship Award.

Glenmorangie logo projected onto the museum tower.

At the moment we’re busy finishing a major new book on the period, due to be published later this year. Building up to writing this book, we’ve been researching some of the most stunning objects in National Museums’ archaeology collections. These include the fascinating massive solid silver chains – the one pictured here weighs nearly two kilograms!

Solid silver chain.

An important part of the project so far has been commissioning contemporary artists to make ‘recreations’ of Early Historic objects that have not survived the tests of time. These included our wooden Pictish throne, shown here on display in the Scottish parliament building.

The Pictish throne on display at the Scottish Parliament.

Over the next three years we’re going to continue this exciting programme of modern recreations, so watch out for future blogs and watch the past come to life at our new web pages.

Cheers or sláinte!

Sláinte!

 

Whisky, jewellery and shoes: the ideal job?

By Alice Blackwell, Glenmorangie Research Officer

My name is Alice and some people say I have the best job title – I am the Glenmorangie Research Officer at National Museums Scotland. But my job is not to research Glenmorangie or whisky – unless you count what I do in my own time on a Friday night! I’m an archaeologist and I’m part of a small research team working on a project supported by Glenmorangie to gain a better understanding of Early Historic Scotland. This is basically the period after the Romans and before the Vikings arrived – from around AD 300 to 900.

Lots of amazing objects were made at this time and this is part of why I love my job. One day I can be handling a precious silver hoard, the next peeking inside a small Christian relic casket. I get to study beautiful sculpture, exquisite metalwork, and intriguing leather remains. A surprise today was how poignant it felt to be photographing a pair of 1500-year old shoes.

Me looking at a brooch from St Ninian’s Isle, Shetland.

Opening the Monymusk Reliquary.

Some of the most interesting things I’ve done to date have involved getting to know contemporary artists so that we can tap their knowledge and skills to help understand our archaeology collections better. Through these partnerships we have brought to life objects that no longer survive, and gained often unexpected insights into how things were made and used. At the moment you can see a pair of reconstructed book satchels – the kind of things monks would have used to carry precious illuminated manuscripts like the Book of Kells across Scotland – these are on display in the National Museum of Scotland, just inside the Tower Entrance.

The satchels on display in the National Museum of Scotland.

You can find out more about the Monymusk reliquary and St Ninian’s Isle treasure here.