| The Burghead
Bull: a stone carving a project by: Lord Dunstan LeHeryngmongere AKA : Keith Nealson |
| Introduction This paper describes the contemporary re-etching in stone of the Burghead bull, a carving found on multiple stones at the sight of a Pictish fort in Burghead, Moray, Scotland. The original stone pictures were created in the 6th - 7th centuries. This re-creation project is on a slightly smaller scale, but attempted to capture roughly the same image using roughly the same tools. The paper is divided into 4 sections: I. Materials/methods used (the process by which this statue was made) II. Historical documentation (the historical authenticity of a project such as this) III. A bit about the Burghead Bulls IV. A Bibliography. I. Methods/Materials: * 3 metal chisels, various sizes * 1 metal 'point' chisel * a heavy metal-headed hammer * a pencil * a piece of slate stone, approximately 1" thick by 10" by 15", recovered from a neighbor's abandoned garden I found a picture of one of the Burghead bull carvings at Burghead, Scotland. (see picture #1, from the website of the National Museum of Scotland at Edinburgh.) I thought that it would be a neat project to try to recreate this carving on a smaller scale. I decided to use one of several pieces of green slate stone that I had earlier recovered from a neighbor's abandoned garden. Slate is a much less forgiving stone than the white sandstone that would probably have been used in period. It tends to crack off in sheets instead of small bits when subjected to pressure across a wide base. I therefore had to start off with a narrow base (in other words, a thin line) and then flesh it out. I first used a pencil to draw the design, based upon several pictures I found on the web about the stones. Once my design was drawn, I used the finest, smallest stone chisel that I had to etch a single, thin line along the drawings. (see picture # 2, noting the head area which is still outlined with one thin line ) Parallel to that first line I used the same chisel to etch another line next to it (see picture # 3, noting the front legs of the bull, an example of what the lines looked like before I chipped away what was between them). I then used the metal point to chip away what was between the two lines, creating one thick, solid line. (see picture # 2 , note the hindquarters of the bull, which are almost done). I continued to use the larger chisel and point to deepen the lines until I was satisfied with the depth of the etching line throughout. I was pleased with the way this project looked at this point, and abandoned my original thought of possibly painting it. II. Historical Documentation: There are six surviving depictions (or partial depictions) of the Burghead bulls. They are all carved of white sandstone, which is the stone that the majority of the Pictish and Viking carvings we find from prior to the Norman invasion of England were carved in. Other types of stone were used, including red sandstone, metamorphic granite, and just about whatever was available in some areas. In my case, I had no access to sandstone. I instead used a piece of Green Shale that I found in a neighbor's abandoned garden. Shale was not necessarily the best choice, as it tends to break off in sheets and is somewhat unforgiving. In my case, it was what was available, so I used it. In the future, I would love to try my hand at carving actual sandstone. All of the Burghead bulls are considered Class I carvings, meaning that they are incised upon otherwise undressed boulders or naturally shaped stones. The actual size of most of these carved pictures is approximately 8" tall by 18" long. The symbol that I carved is just about half the actual size. It is possible that a template was used to outline these bulls when they were carved. This is believed to be the case because of the similarity in size of many surviving carvings (or pieces of carvings) that exist. Templates in period may have been made of leather, metal, or wood. The bulls themselves, however, differ in size enough that they probably were not carved from the same template. I chose not to design a template, as I was only planning on chiseling out one of these images. I instead drew the image onto the stone using a graphite pencil. In the 7th century, they would have used chalk or charcoal. Chisels and Gouges of one type or another have been around since the early stone age. Metal chisels and hammers were used to carve stone throughout the viking age. A set of viking shipbuilder tools from 950-1050 included with them a metal chisel. Chisels were also found in the ruins of Coppergate, York (dated 1120-1135). Marks of chisels, punches, points and occasionally the use of a hand drill can be seen on surviving stone carvings from as early as the 6th century. Stone punches were also quite commonly used to shape the stone into it's basic form before carving or etching. I did not need to use a punch, as the stone I had acquired was already the right size and shape for the project. Picture #2 includes all of the tools I used in this project other than a graphite #2 pencil. It can be assumed from the paint residue on most stone carvings from this time that most were painted in some manner after they were carved, and multiple paint layers tell us that they were probably touched up from time to time. (Bailey, pg 254). I could not find out for a fact whether or not the Burghead bulls themselves were ever checked for paint residue. III. About the Burghead Bulls According to the Elgin Museum, which displays two of the surviving six burghead bull carvings (one complete and one incomplete), the Burghead bull stones were found during the 19th century rebuilding of Burghead Harbor. Originally, it is believed that these stones may have been a part of the rampart of a pictish fort that existed in the area during the 7th century. At the time, the area of Northern Scotland was a center of Viking and Pictish culture. Pictish culture was first documented as a unique national culture in 297 C.E. by the roman writer Eumenius. It remained a united group until about 840 C.E., when Irish Scot Kenneth MacAlpin defeated them and their lands became Scotland. Over thirty stones with bulls on them were originally found, but many were discarded or destroyed at the time of finding, and so only six are now known to exist. A picture of one of the best complete carvings can be seen here. (Picture #1, from the Edinburgh museum). This particular carving has been dated back to the 6th-7th century, and was presented to the National Museums of Scotland by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder in 1891. It can not be said with any certainty why these symbols were carved, but many theories exist. Some believe that the bulls were totemic in nature, and worshipped as a symbol of strength, fertility, and potency. Others believe they may have been a pictish form of heraldry, announcing the dwelling place of a particular clan or family. Bulls were also the symbol of Saint Luke, and they may have been drawn there by some of the earliest converts to Catholicism. Still others believe that they may have been simply put there for decoration and had no special significance at all. Because almost all of the surviving stones have fairly severe water damage, it has even been theorized that these stones were sacrificed into the ocean or into local wells in some ceremonial ritual. Bibliography Bailey, Richard N. Viking Age Sculpture, Collins, London 1980 Flyer from the Elgin Museum, Scotland. From the web site http://www.elginmuseum.demon.co.uk/picts.html Gardner, Arthur. English Medieval Sculpture, Cambridge University Press, 1951 Stewart, R.J. Celtic Gods and Goddesses, Blandford Press, 1990 Stone, Lawrence, Sculpture in Britain in the Middle Ages, Penguin Books, 1955 Sutherland, Elizabeth. A Guide to the Pictish Stones, Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, 1997 Illustrations (coming soon) Picture #1 (From the Edinborough Museum website) One of the six known surviving carvings of the Burghead Bull symbol, ca 7th century from Burhead, Scotland. This one is carved in white sandstone, and the actual carving is approximately 8 inches tall and 18 inches across. Picture #2 This picture is an intermediate stage of the carving process. The head has only one thin etched line in it. The front legs have a double line etched in. The hindquarters are almost completely etched. Included, on the left, are the tools used to carve the stone. Picture #3 A close-up of the head (single etched line) and the front legs (the second line has been etched, but the point has not yet been used to carve out the full line). |
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