Archaeologists in Scotland shed genuine tears when they found a stone covered with geometric carvings that the Indigenous people of the region designed about 1,500 years ago.
The carved stone was found while doing a survey in the village of Aberlemno. The stone has a number of geometric shapes with symbols of the Pictish religion. The researchers said that some of the symbols were carved in different time periods.
Gordon Noble, excavation leader and a professor of archaeology at the University of Aberdeen, told Live Science in an email that the best guess is that the symbols are a naming system for Pictish names.
James O'Driscoll, an archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland who helped excavate the stone, said in a university video that it was the find of a lifetime.
Stone monument discovered in Scotland.
The people of the Picts were fierce people who lived in ancient and medieval times in parts of Scotland. The Roman Empire never conquered Scotland because of them.
Only about 200 such stones are known to archaeologists. The Battle of Nechtansmere may have been depicted in a slab of stones from Aberlemno, which is known for its unique standing stones.
The discovery happened in early 2020 when archaeologists were surveying the area as part of the Comparative Kingship project, a five-year investigation into the early medieval kingdoms of northern Britain and Ireland. The team noticed anomalies while moving the equipment across the grass.
There are 4 images, the first one is image 1 and the 2nd one is image 3.
The archaeologists dug a small pit to see what was underneath their feet. The carved stone was found to their astonishment. Zak Hinckley, an archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen who took part in the excavation, said in the video.
The team had to put their plans on hold because of the COVID-19 lockdowns. After months of waiting, they were able to remove and examine the stone, which dates from the fifth or sixth century A.D.
It is rare to find carved Pictish stones, but they are occasionally dug up by farmers, but by the time we get to analyse them, much of what surrounds them has already been disturbed.
To find something like this while digging a small test pit is amazing, and we couldn't believe our luck. He said that they were able to examine and date the layers underneath the rock without losing vital evidence.
According to radiocarbon dating, the slab was placed next to other pavers in a building that was built in the 11th or 12th century. The Kingdom of Alba was the progenitor of medieval Scotland and the building dates to after the Pictish period.
The stone is in a lab in Edinburgh where scientists will investigate it further.
It was originally published on Live Science.
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