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An intricately set Pictish ring has been unearthed during excavations at Burghead, in Moray, home to the largest-known Pictish coastal promontory fort.
Overlooking the Moray Forth, the fort would originally have covered around 5.5ha, but the construction of the town of Burghead in the early 19th century destroyed its southern portion and covered much of the remaining footprint, with a considerable amount of its stonework reused in the new settlement. Since 2018, however, excavations led by the University of Aberdeen have been bringing the long-buried remains to light once more.
Burghead fort is now understood to be one of the richest of its type in terms of buildings and finds spanning the 7th and 9th centuries AD. It had a complex defence system of timber-laced ramparts, considered among the best in Europe, while it has also produced striking items such as 30 stone slabs engraved with images of bulls (see CA 364).
Over the last three years, further excavations of the fort have been carried out by the University of Aberdeen as part of the CITADEL Project, funded by Historic Environment Scotland. These investigations are working to document parts of the site that are currently threatened by coastal erosion, and it was during this summer’s dig that the ring was discovered.
Thought to be at least 1,000 years old, the ring is made from bronze, with a distinctive kite shape and a small red garnet set into its centre. It is a rare discovery, but a mould for a nearly identical ring has been found in the Brough of Birsay in Orkney, which suggests that it is a typical Pictish type.
As is often the way, the ring appeared on the final day of excavation, uncovered by volunteer John Ralph (a University of Aberdeen graduate whose ancestors moved to the newly established Burghead to support its growing fishing industry) within the remains of a house in an area of the site that had previously been thought to be of relatively low significance.
Project director Professor Gordon Noble said: ‘There are very few Pictish rings which have ever been discovered, and those we do know about usually come from hoards which were placed in the ground deliberately for safekeeping in some way.’ Assemblages like the Iona Hoard (found at the eponymous abbey and also containing over 360 Anglo-Saxon coins) include Pictish rings, for example, but the Burghead one is believed to be an earlier example of this ring-type.
The excavations have uncovered evidence of metalworking on the site too, including crucible sherds and possible tools relating to this industry. This could indicate that high-status metal items – including the ring – were made within the fort. If this is the case, it would contribute to the developing narrative of Burghead as a significant Pictish power centre.
Research on the site continues, and future investigations within the lower citadel will compare and contrast the two main parts of the Pictish settlement. Meanwhile, the evidence of buildings and other finds from the site will be studied in further detail to explore whether the ring may have been made within the fort, and who it may have been crafted for. As for the ring itself, it is currently in the care of the National Museum of Scotland’s Post-excavation Service where it, too, will undergo specialist analysis.
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Photo: University of Aberdeen
