V. THE CARVED SCOTLANDF O S THEORW O T NE S A Y:A THEIR USE LUDOVIY B . C MACLELLAN MANN, F.S.A. SCOT. Interest centres round these balls because thee carefullar y y carve d decorated e founan d ar d an practicall, y onl n Scotlandyi . They have formed the theme of much, and perhaps futile, specula- purposed an thei o t e tio s ag rna . They first began about 185o t 0 be noticed by archaeologists, and now some two hundred specimens stonef knowe o ar e ,ar existo nl except Al . bronza t e specimen from Lanarkshire. Superficiall t discscu y , n usuallnumberi x e si yar , sculptured on the greater number. Some are cut with many small knobs, while others have a surface without protuberances, but bearing incised lined othean s r ornamental work. Some perfectly plain spherical stones have been inadvertently classified with them ; and also a few perforated carved balls, which seem to belong to a different category. Dr J. Alexander Smith was inclined to place these balls in a some- what late chronological position—in the earliest Christian centuries (P.S.A.S., vol. xi., 1876, p. 56); Sir John Evans, referring to one specimen, expressed the opinion that it " would seem to belong to Bronze th e Period rather tha thao nt f Ston o t e " (Anc. Stone Imp., 2nd edn., p. 421); and Mr J. Romilly Alien held that the Towie 8 40 PKOCEEDING , SOCIETYE 191411 TH Y .F O SMA ,

ball " belongs clearlBronze th "e (Reliquary,o t yAg e N.S., vol. iii. p. 105). r JosepD h Anderson hesitate o plact s e e r bacth the fa s a ko m s Bronz (Irone eAg Age, . 172)p . Others writers, some quite recently, give these relic swida e chrono- logical range, extending Stone bacth o ket Age. e allegeTh d rindin f specimeno g n intermenti s e Stonth d f o an es Bronze Ages has caused confusion. A misconception of the decorative features on two specimens, the Towie ball and the Lanarkshire bronze t infrequentlno ball s ha , y caused thes specimeno etw assignee b o t s d to a period too remote. In both these specimens the decoration seems to me to be characteristic of a time not earlier than the Early Iro e Towinth Agen eO specimeisolaten . a t cu d s ni grou f threpo e small dots or depressions arranged in a triangular manner. This motif of the triple dots occurs on several early Scottish Christian monuments, is common in the early Christian illuminated manu- scriptss founa i silve n d o dran , chain (P.S.A.S., . 330)p vol . x ,. which beare Pictisth f so halse symbolsoon . Thu bale sth l seemo st be linked up chronologically with the Early Christian sculpturings. Its decoratio "s ni late Celti lata cf estyleo "n i phas d an ,thaf eo t style. The carved work on a specimen in Perth Museum is very like the " thistle-heads " of the silver pins and brooches which have been found in with coins of the tenth century. A beautifully carved ball, whic I hobtaine n Lanarkshirdi e (Prehistoric Catalogue, Scot. Nat. Exhib. (1911) f smalo , Glasgoww l ro a . 858)p s , ha , punctulations set marginally on one of its discs in the style of the row f dot so t mediallsse e decorativn bandyi th n i s e wor n metai k l and on vellum of the earlier medieval centuries. The style of decoration on the balls and their discovery in earth houses, near sitebrochsn o sd occupiean , d durin e earlgth y centuries of this era, such as the Fort of , Argyll, testify that these relics havprobabla s ea e centre poin thein i t r chronological range eth THE CARVED STONE BALLS OF SCOTLAND. 409

first two or three centuries of the Christian era. They may be classi- fied as protohistoric, and I see no grounds for assigning any of them to the Bronze or Stone Periods. But some writers hold out strongly foextension a r f theino r period bac thoso kt e sole ageseTh reaso. n for thi e supposesth seeme b o dt s associatio f specimenr no o e on n si two cases with prehistoric interments. Ther onle ear y three case whicn si t hseemi s worth whil examino et e the statement that has been made that carved stone balls have been found in true association with prehistoric interments. In 1850 Sir Daniel Wilson (Prehistoric Annals, edn.d s tol2n d wa ) thao tw t plain round stones were got with a burial in Dumbartonshire, and he referstatemena o t se Statistical th n i t Ace. (Kirkcudbright), vol. iv . p. 332, that a ball of flint is stated to have been found in 1809 with some other important things in a on Glenquicken Moor. These balls, even granting they wer n trud direci e an e t association with intermentse th , would probabl rejectee yb thef d(i y weravailablw eno e for scrutiny) as coming within the category of the carved balls under discussion. I have from a smooth and almost perfectly spherical ball of flint which some people would take to be one of the carved stone balls, but the stone is simply a natural nodule conforming e e shapflinth th tf o et o thirfossile Th d . cas whicn ei hprehistoria c associatio r thesfo n e object s allegei s s thai df threo t e specimens sai o havt d e been founa cair t t a Ardkeilingda n , Elgin. They have been describe e latr Hugth M e y hb d Young (Reliquary, Jan. N.S.d an , ,1897 vol46 . p ., iv., 1898 informatios . hi 119)p ,t bu ; s wa n got second-hand, and he did none of the discovery work himself. One of the specimens seems to have been found in the usual way in the surface soil of a field, but two of them are supposed to have been associated wit a hburia l some distance froe cairne th m Th . discovery of two of these relics together is an excessively rare pheno- itseln menoni s i f sufficiend an , raiso t t e suspicion genuinenese th o t s sa s associatione oth f . MuillJ r farmee M th , . t Ardkeilinga r seemo wh , s

412 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 11, 1914.

to have told Mr Young of the incident, inclines to believe that they actually came out of the cist, as I have seen a letter from Mr Muill to this effect, to an Edinburgh correspondent. It seems highly desirable, however, to have further evidence as to this discovery, but it may be too late to secure it. In a few other cases the reports of the finders as to the stone balls having been picked up near a cairn or are of little value. e possiblth Ao t s e purpose f theso s e stone s beeballsha n t i ,con - jectured that they were used in some game or amusement. They are almost invariably found singly, a fact which does not strengthen such contention f madrollee I b . o et d about cleas i t i ,r tha muco s t h d easilfinan e y injured carved work woul t havno d e bee t uponpu n them n argumena , t which also weaken e hypothesith s s that they were employed eithe s loosa r e missile s weapona r o s s attacheo t d sticks by thongs. An investigator has put forward the idea that the balls played some par magican i t r religiouo l s ceremonies , howeveris t I . , mere guess- work to say they were used in divining (Arch. Assoc. Journal, vol. xvii. p. 20), and indeed they possess no characteristic leading up to suc . AlexanderemarksJ e idean a hr Th D . y b , r Smith (P.S.A.S., ) sugges59 e ston. p th a volpossibl t. f eo xi . balle us es as headf o s sceptres or episcopal staffs, but there is not a jot of evidence to fortify suc hsuggestiona . Perhaps less improbable is Dr Smith's adopted suggestion that these balls were mounted or tied to rods and used flail-like as weapons. As the balls are of somewhat late period, it becomes necessary to f suco e h us objectse record e th inquire instance th H o t f o .s s a e s the use of some such weapons at the Battle of Hastings and draws attention to drawings of them in the Bayeaux tapestry. It is scarcely thinkable that much minut d laboriouan e s work should have been expende n objece subjectea b e n moso o dt th t to t dviolen t impacts and to rough usage which would destroy the beautifully carved THE CARVED STONE BALLS OF SCOTLAND. 413

surface. As is shown in the tapestry, the clubs were sometimes thrown bodileneme th werd t ya y an e admittedly rude weapons. Dr Smith held that he had restored to its place a supposititious stone-mace " which," he states, " must have been brought in great numbers wit e Saxonhth s when they flocke earln di y times into Scot- havy ewh land. nont thesf Bu e"o e stones been discovere Englandn di , and why are they so scarce in Southern Scotland, and why relatively commo n districti n s farthest removed from Saxondome th suc s a h Orkneys ? Why, for example, is the Kilpheadry ball from Suther- land, mad f nativo e ef Saxoo sandston s i n t i manufactur f i e e? e balth l d froDi m Dunadd Fort, Argyll, com n wit i ee Saxon hth s? o stretc n e thin y on f f fancthesB ho o kn ca ye enigmatical balls a s head a characteristi f so d Saxool c n weapo r havino n g been uset a d the Battle of Hastings. If attached to thongs like the South American bola, which consists of one or more stones coated with leather attached to a thong—a form of weapon foreign to Britain and Europe—we have the old objection to fine carved work being exposed to severe usage ; and again, necessarile th y strong leather thong matteo n ,arranged w ho r , would cover muce decorativth f ho e work. We must obviously look for suggestions in other directions. If heads of weapons, it is strange that in the cases of knobbed speci- mens the protuberances are so low. If the knobs and discs were of greater prominence and sharpness, it is clear that the effectiveness stonee oth f weapons sa s would have been greatly increased. I have reviewed all the suggestions that have been recorded, but all of them have weak points nond eves an , eha r received heart unanir yo - mous acceptance. whice Thon e hs hypothesii wilt ou venturl w t explaino se I so et n e manth y peculiaritie f these whicho s on e s I i thinkrelics, d an , presents a better solution. Several years ago, on examining some old Scottish weighing beams, 414 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 11, 1914.

I found that associated with eac roughly-cuta f the o hs mwa stone which hung upon the beam and served as a movable poise or weight. e sameth t d be'eA timha n eI puzzling ove e probablth r e purposf o e carvee th d stone t theballsi d n ;an occurre thae m t o dthei t coul e us r d bes explainee b t e hypothesisth n do that they were movable poises on primitive weighing machines. n ancienI t times there were three main kind weighf so t measurers. e familiath Ther s wa er balance, favoure r smalfo d l objects, where the weights are loose, furnished with a pan hung at each end of the -beam havind an , swine gth g poin poind an tsuspensiof o t e beath f mno at the centre of the beam. Another method was that of the steelyard (a wor t derivedno d from " steel s indicatina " gmetaa ls useit n di construction), where the object to be weighed was placed on a hook r hooko somn i r o se receptacl e woodeth f o e nd suspendeen e on t da beam, whil poisea weigha ( e f stono t r otheeo r material s movewa ) d e othee bea th th e require t mrth n a o end d o an dfr , weighd an o t t ascertained from that graded mark on the beam at which the poise had to be brought to effect a balance. In another of the appliances (sometimes style e bismardth e pois fixeds th ) ewa , whil e fulcrueth m or swing poin movabls wa t e alon 'woodee gth n beam thesn I d . ean other intermediate appliance a suspendes d weigh necessarys wa t . Alcontrivancee lth s with poises were anciently very widely distributed. Like many other neo-archaic appliances, they survived in their primi- tive style in the remote districts of Scotland long after they had been modernise othen di r parts. Specimen "e bismar,th f calles si o t i ds "a in Scotland, Iceland, and Scandinavian countries, might until recently have been secured as curiosities in the northern isles and down the east coas Scotlanf o t Berwickshiredo t . The roughla pois s ewa y dressed stone either iron huna ny gb hoo k networa y ob r . Lin f string.H k o r g M Eot writtes hha n about them (" Oriental Steelyard Bismars,d san . Roy."Tr Anthrop. Inst., vol. xlii.), r awad showfa an s Chino ya s sd e tha an ae applianc us th t n i s ewa THE CAEVED STONE BALLS OP SCOTLAND. 415

Japan. They were evidently widely distribute n remoti d e times. In the Far East the stone poise was often hung by strings of hair or silk from the beam. He describes a specimen from Yarkand, China, wher travelline eth g poisorange-shapen a s ei d ston granitef eo , 1'37 kilogrammes in weight, with a wooden beam 73 cm. long. The poises of Chinese steelyards in the are often six-sided, s ovaha le disc on t upo d scu . nan it Som f theeo e mth reminf o e don carved stone ball f Scotlando s , whic s suggestivi h e tha e latteth t r may have been use s poises a de knobs Th . , sunk interspacesd an , channelled gutters on the Scottish specimens are highly oinate, but would have been usefu n allowini l e poisee securelb th g o t d s an y artistically suspende a network y b d . Experiment demonstrates how easily and elegantly the Scottish balls can be encased by a net- work. The strands, in the case of the ball experimented with, were arrange e cut-outh n i d t interspace broughd an s t intstrine r oon fo g suspension to the beam. Some of the Scottish specimens have a slight flattening of, or an absence of decoration on, one side, and it is noticeable that the stones sit naturally on that side which was probably opposit thao et t from whic suspensioe hth n corlikels d wa hav o yt n eru upwards. This method of suspension would in no case interfere wit decoratee hth d surface t woulbu , d enchanc e ornateth e character e poiseoth f . The carefully sculptured work seems appropriat thina n ei g which was to be handled, daily and seen by many, at a period when the people delighte o havdt e even simple object domestif o s utilitariad can e nus elaborately ornate d weran , e accustome o lavist d h much timd an e artistic skill upon themcompletele Th . y decorated surfac f e y of the balls is not remarkable if one supposes the stones were hung from the beam suspended in a delicate network of strings, leaving practically every part of the surface open to view, the strings being arranged so as to enchance the appearance. A scrutiny of those balls which have escaped weathering conveys the impression that they 6 41 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE , 191411 TH Y .F O SMA ,

have been smoothed, hand-soiled, and blackened as if by continuous handling, and this has been remarked upon by Dr John Alexander Smith (P.S.A.S., . vol55)p . .,xi thoug e significanchth e of it did not apparently occur to him. Some other writers have also noticed that they have been so much handled, rubbed, and blackened e hano disguisweat y th b s f da o r e textur eth naturad ean l colouf o r the stone. If beam poises were widely distributed, why is it that the ornate poises are to be found only in Scotland 1 It would appear that in some areas the people did not care to decorate the poises. In England their place seem o havt s e been take y burnt-clanb y weights, which were easily perforated; and it is curious that just as in the border countie f Scotlano s e carveth d d stone ball vere ar sy e scarceth d an , clay weights are not uncommon. It is clear also (if the hypothesis t forwarpu s correcti d ) that whil e primitivth e e for f weighingmo - beam continue Scotlann i e us n ddi from early medieval time almoso st t the present day, the stone poises became degraded in shape and decoration until for many recent centuries an ordinary rough stone often with an iron hook sufficed. The wooden framework of the early bismar would not often survive, and the only vestige of such a contrivance woulweighe th e db t thaalonef i d t consistean , rouga f do h stone it would at once lose its identity and be ignored. If the weight were made and decorated and became lost and discovered in the soil at a later period, it would at once be brought home and treasured, and give rise to much speculation as to its purpose, just as the relics under discussion have done during the last half-century. Since writing this pape I rapplier Alex M . Curi0 o . t dr per fo e- mission to arrange- for the -weighing of the carved balls in the Scottish National Collection, as the data so obtained might throw light on the problem r CuriM .e , tolhoweverdme , that this wor jusd kha t been undertaken by Mr Wilfrid Airy, B.A., M.Inst. C.E. I have since been favoured by Mr Airy's paper " On the Ancient THE CARVED STONE BALLS OF SCOTLAND. 417

Weights of Britain," read to the Institute of Civil Engineers (Excerpt Minutes f Proceedingso e Instituteth f o f Civilo Engineers, vol. cxci., Session 1912-13, Part I.). Mr Airy gives a history of the three pounds (Avoirdupois, Roman, and Troy—the only recognised pre-Norman weight standards of Britain)varioue th d san , weight clayn si , lead othed an , r metalsd an , in other materials, found on Romano-British and other early sites. In many English museums are objects of burnt clay and of chalk and limestone made into the form of truncated cones, triangular slabs, cylinders ringsd an , , nearly always perforate facilitato t f i s a d e suspension, and ranging in weight from \ Ib. to 12 Ibs. They have n Romano-Britiso bee t go n n siteho sitesd w occupiean sfe a r fo d centuries befor e Romath e n occupatio f Britainno ver havA w .y fe e been got in the southern parts of Scotland. Mr Airy shows they could hardly have been net-sinker r looso m weights werd an , e almost certainly trade weights following in their units the Avoirdupois system. e attemptH o establist s h thae commerciath t l weights begao t n com Britaien i inte ous n some little time befor e Romath e n invasion. He does not refer at all to ancient beams and their movable poises, but states that the balls " must be supposed to have served some generally useful purpos themselvey eb s alone." Mr Airy remarks upon the frequent occurrence of perforated clay objects (presumably weights n Englandi ) d theian , r great raritn yi Scotland. It seems clear that weights were made of clay and less often of chalk and limestone in England, and of stone in Scotland. He holds that " while the antiquarians have not as yet formed any reasonable conjecture as to the use and object" of the carved stone balls peculiar to Scotland, they were " either trade weights or were raty an e t mada accordancn i e e wit a htrade-weigh t standarde th , Avoirdupois pound." From a table, prepared by Mr Airy of carefully ascertained weight 1 ston8 f eo s ball n Edinburghi s , Aberdeend an , VOL. XLVIII. 27 8 41 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE , 191411 TH Y F .O SMA ,

London, they appea falo t r l into four divisions—an eighth quartera , , one-half, and one-pound weights; but by far the largest number approximate to the denomination of 1 Ib. Avoirdupois. Mr Airy goe furthero sn , however, tha offe o nt e suggestio th r n that e Scottisth h stone balls were employe s trada d es weightshi t Bu . suggestio extremels ni y helpfu workinn i lhypothesie th t gou s that they were used as poises on weighing-beams. The distribution respectively of weights of clay and weights of ston Britain ei n suggests tha anciene th t t bismar, while used through- out Britain, differed in various areas in respect of the material used movable inth e poises I hav. e never hear suggestioe dth n thae th t perforated clay weights of England were used on the bismar, but this would now appear to be probable. It is only by this hypothesis (that the balls were employed as beam- poises explain peculiaritiee ) ca thath e l nal on t relice th f sso :— 1. They are practically always found singly, as each small com- munity would not require more than one weighing-machine. 2. Ther a tota s i e l absenc f well-authenticateo e d case f theio s r occurrence in graves, but they have often been discovered at domestic sites. 3. The decoration of knobs, incised lines, gutters, hollow and intercommunicating interspaces between t onldiscsno ys i ,highly - ornat t assistebu allowinn si e fixin gnetwora th f o g suspensionr kfo . 4. Their confinement to Scotland, and the confinement of burnt- clay weights to the areas where the balls are not found, simply means that in different territories different styles of poises were in vogue in ancient times. The nature of the material used for the poises dictated generally whether they were to be perforated or not. Soft material, such as clay, limestone, and chalk, induced" perforation. 5. Their employment in a service which did not expose them to violent usag d impacan e t induced fine surface workmanshie b o t p lavished upon them. THE CAEVED STONE BALLS OF SCOTLAND. 419

6. The base and top, often recognisable either as a slight flattening e presenc th plaie y on r lesb side no f r eo son eo f decorated disr co side explaineds i , . 7. The finely smoothed gutters are accounted for by the play of a string. . Thei8 r appearanc f beino e g often handled s indicatea , n a y b d oiliness, smoothness d darkeninan , e surfacth f n unweathereo go e d specimens, is accounted for. 9. Their period coincides with the first developments of accurately managed systems of trade and barter. e coincidencTh . o certait 10 s a e n unit f weigho s t undoubtedly represented by them points to their having been trade weights. . The11 y coul e morb d e appropriately used suspended t onlno , y without los f decorativo s e effect t wit bu n enhancemen, a h , it f o t than affixe heavo dt y thong rodsr so . 12. If the poise in Scotland anciently acquired greater beauty than in any other area, this furnishes one more indication of the exception- ally high degree of aesthetic attainment of the ancient people of North Britain as compared with that of the people of ancient Saxondom. reasone Th sculpturin r . sfo 13 balle gth s might have been threefold —noassiso t grippine d tth t suspene an onl th e pleasf o yt gey o e - eth sion cords or network, but to prevent an easy reduction in the weight of the ball by fraudulent traders. If the ball were worn down or intentionall yo reduc t scrape s s a origina it eo s d l weight, thee th n alteratio buln ni k migh obvioue b t case bala th f eo ln si wit finelha y chiselle d definitan d e pattern upo . it nThu a finels y decorated surface, like the milling on a coin, tended to preserve the weight or measure from fraudulent mutilation. The Eoman statera may have been the prototype of the weighing- bea Northerf mo n Europ Britaind ean t seemI . havo st e spread into Northern Europ havo t d e ebeean n introduced shortly befor Komae eth n invasion, as were also mechanical appliances such as the loom, the 0 42 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE , 191411 TH Y F .O SMA ,

wheeled vehicle, the rotatory quern, the lathe, the potter's , and such things as coins and currency bars. showe b n I thinnca that ki t severa f theso l e balls performea d double function thad an ,t they contai thein ni r carved work certain units of length. The diameter of a ball may have varied with the specific gravity of the stone out of which it was made, and its diameter casy t easilwaan eno n si y ascertaine diametee th t s discit bu f so rd; lengththe certai linesand of channelthe sand n of uposcut nseeit m to bear a relationship in each specimen. A feelin f disappointmeno g y aris ma n mantei y minds that these curious stone balls e producth , f muco t h skild artistian l c work, o magicalwern f o e , ceremonial r warliko , e origin t werbu , e merely adjuncn a apparatun a f o t s use prosain di everydad can y commercial operations. But on the other hand, if the hypothesis is well founded, thirteer fo s i t nI i ventur specifis y a sa o et c gooda reasonst ge e w , glimpse into a system of weights and measures which underlay com- mercial activity in Scotland at a time not far short of 2000 years ago whicf o , h little accurate knowledg coms eha e timer dowou o .nt