substantial body of water, where now we have only
Article contributed by Elgin Museum:
the Loch of Spynie and a still active drainage system. The Firth would not have been a barrier but
www.elginmuseum.org.uk,
a route of communication, for example with
curator@elginmuseum.org.uk
Portmahomack on Tarbatness , now with its
Janet Trythall, Elgin Museum Volunteer,
excellent museum of Pictish stones in the old parish
trythallj@btinternet.com 31/1/2011
church. Burghead, a Pictish naval fort, is famous for its magnificent series of carvings of powerful bulls, and has an excellent visitor centre on the site. Seven miles east is Kinneddar, the old graveyard near the entrance to RAF Lossiemouth. Around here, some thirty Pictish stones have been found at what may have been an early monastery and stone workshop. One is now in the National Museum in Edinburgh, donated by a somewhat notorious nineteenth century collector. The rest are on display in Elgin Museum, with two Burghead bulls and a replica of the bull in the British Museum. An illustrated catalogue of all the known Burghead and Kinneddar stones is published by Elgin Museum. Between these two settlements, in a cave at the base of the cliffs at Covesea, are several Pictish carvings, for which it is known as the Sculptor’s Cave. The cave has been fully excavated but only recently have the surviving bones been radiocarbon dated. The neck bones that show signs of beheading date to 250-350 AD: the Roman Iron Age, earliest Pictish period. Several of the finds are on display in Elgin Museum, and a guide to the Cave is available giving advice about access. Elgin Museum is a must for anyone with an interest in the story of Moray from before the dinosaurs, via the Picts to the present day. The Museum opens for the season on 1st April, but in the winter months welcomes visitors by appointment, and is always looking for more volunteers.