The development of the Pictish symbol system: inscribing identity beyond the edges of Empire

Gordon Noble; Martin Goldberg; Derek Hamilton

doi:10.15184/aqy.2018.68

The development of the Pictish symbol system: inscribing identity beyond the edges of Empire

Gordon Noble (Corresponding Author), Martin Goldberg, Derek Hamilton

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

3 Citations (Scopus)

41 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The date of unique symbolic carvings, from various contexts across north and east Scotland, has been debated for over a century. Excavations at key sites and direct dating of engraved bone artefacts have allowed for a more precise chronology, extending from the third/fourth centuries AD, broadly contemporaneous with other non-vernacular scripts developed beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire, to the ninth century AD. These symbols were probably an elaborate, non-alphabetic writing system, a Pictish response to broader European changes in power and identity during the transition from the Roman Empire to the early medieval period.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1329-1348
Number of pages	20
Journal	Antiquity
Volume	92
Issue number	365
Early online date	26 Oct 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2018.68
Publication status	Published - Oct 2018

Keywords

Scotland
Pictish
symbolism
carving
language
writing

Access to Document

10.15184/aqy.2018.68Licence: CC BY

The development of the Pictish symbol system: inscribing identity beyond the edges of Empire
© Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2018 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Final published version, 8.35 MBLicence: CC BY

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Gordon Noble
- School of Geosciences, Archaeology - Personal Chair
- Archaeology (Research Theme)
Person: Academic

Cite this

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abstract = "The date of unique symbolic carvings, from various contexts across north and east Scotland, has been debated for over a century. Excavations at key sites and direct dating of engraved bone artefacts have allowed for a more precise chronology, extending from the third/fourth centuries AD, broadly contemporaneous with other non-vernacular scripts developed beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire, to the ninth century AD. These symbols were probably an elaborate, non-alphabetic writing system, a Pictish response to broader European changes in power and identity during the transition from the Roman Empire to the early medieval period.",

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