Stock Photo: Burghead Bull
Museum label: "Pictish carving: 'The Burghead Bull' / 7th century AD / From Burghead, Morayshire, Grampian, Scotland / The figure of a bull has been carved onto the dressed surface of a water-worn sandstone boulder. It is one of the finest of six survivors of about 30 bulls discovered in the 19th century at the promontory fort of Burghead on the Moray coast. They were probably brightly painted and set in the walls of the fort, making an impressive sight. Like the others, this animal walks to the right with its head lowered in a natural way. The bull's ornamented hip joints are in the distinctive medieval Celtic style seen on other Pictish carved stones and in the earliest decorated books such as the Book of Durrow. / Single stones carved with natural subjects are unique to the Pictish peoples of north Britain, but their meaning remains unclear. The unique Burghead group of blls suggests that stones like this had a role in ritual or propaganda for the local ruling family and the community. Two other single bulls have been found near modern Inverness. / MME 1861,10-24,1." British Museum, London.
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Image Details
- Photo ID
- 11334
- Title
- Burghead Bull
- Caption
- Museum label: "Pictish carving: 'The Burghead Bull' / 7th century AD / From Burghead, Morayshire, Grampian, Scotland / The figure of a bull has been carved onto the dressed surface of a water-worn sandstone boulder. It is one of the finest of six survivors of about 30 bulls discovered in the 19th century at the promontory fort of Burghead on the Moray coast. They were probably brightly painted and set in the walls of the fort, making an impressive sight. Like the others, this animal walks to the right with its head lowered in a natural way. The bull's ornamented hip joints are in the distinctive medieval Celtic style seen on other Pictish carved stones and in the earliest decorated books such as the Book of Durrow. / Single stones carved with natural subjects are unique to the Pictish peoples of north Britain, but their meaning remains unclear. The unique Burghead group of blls suggests that stones like this had a role in ritual or propaganda for the local ruling family and the community. Two other single bulls have been found near modern Inverness. / MME 1861,10-24,1." British Museum, London.
- Credit
- Holly Hayes
- Status
- All Rights Reserved
- Date Created
- October 12, 2010
- Date Added
- May 2, 2012
- Last Updated
- May 1, 2024
- Coordinates
- 51.5194670° N, 0.1270030° W
- Camera
- Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Focal Length
- 32 mm
- ISO
- 1250
- File Size
- 13.95 MB
- Full Resolution
- 3514 x 4445 pixels
