Pictish and Viking-Age Carvings from Shetland

Shetland flourished in Pictish and Viking times. Despite lying on the fringes of Europe, these islands were no backwater. A vibrant culture embraced new ideas and produced a wide range of early medieval stone carving.  Christianity arrived by the eighth century, bringing literacy and the cults of saints, whose relics were preserved in stone shrines.

More than a hundred carved stones survive, from Pictish symbol stones, grave-markers, elaborate cross-slabs and shrine parts, to a Viking hogback monument, runic inscriptions and a unique series of decorated stone discs. Ian G Scott has produced drawings of all of the remaining carvings – many of which are being published here for the first time – and Anna Ritchie sets these fine monuments and their art style within the wider archaeological context of Scotland between AD 600 and AD 1200.

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