Carved stone balls by Doroth MarshalyN l F R Coles, who was Assistant Keeper of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland from 1897-1911, made a study of carved stone balls and prepared a paper on the subject about 1911. Mr Bulmer, Stockfield, Northumberland, also worked on these balls and gave his lists and NMAe cardth o st 1936n S i informatioe Th . n containe Colesn di Bulmer''n papeo d an r s cards has been of the greatest assistance to me in preparing this study. In 1911 Coles knew of 180 carved stone balls, whereas now 387 are known to be in 36 museums throughout the country and in private collections. Not all of those listed by Coles and by Bulmer have I been able to trace; many wer privatn ei e collections, several wer museumn ei locatede t cannob sbu w no t . Thesno e ear well-documenteincludeo totatw y t m lbu n di unlocatet dbu d ball includede sar .cast 7 Ther3 e s ear o fNMAS e ballth n si ; caste 1 5ar f ball o s othen si r museums, fivcaste ar ef ball o s NMAn si S and 17 do not match any known balls or any in Bulmer's or Coles' lists. These casts of balls I have include havd lisy an t m epossibl s n a dplottedistributioi e r th fa n s eo da n maps. Three-hundred and seventy-five of these balls are much the same size, with a diameter of larg 2 t ther1 bu e , eballar abou 90-11f mm so 0 diametert7 m 4m . Ther sevee ear n oval ballso tw , of them larger than average and one small one. This uniformity of size is one of the remarkable features of these balls, yet within this uniformity there is a wide variety of treatment. Just less than half hav knobsx esi ; these vary from havin discx gsi s just marked out, through prominent square- cut knobs to round projecting bosses. Twenty-six of these six-knobbed balls are decorated; 12 hav interspacee eth s betwee knobe nth standind sdesigne cleaparan s th a t f t o tncu . g ou Some balls have three knobs, some have numerou , 160symmetrical d sevenll 90 knob ,al an , t 25 y cu s - . Some are decorated with spirals, some with concentric circles and others with a variety of incised designs. Three unfinished balls in NMAS show that the stone was shaped to a sphere before the carving of the knobs began. AS 18 is broken with rather more than half remaining; the four knobs are barely marked out. AS 183, a well shaped sphere with an even but not smoothed surface, has two discs defined thire Th .d bal loan lo NMA o nt S from Perth Museu knob0 5 s ms ha wit hsmala l unworked areaunfinishee Th . d surfac roundes ei t smoothed no eved t dan n bu . TYPE 1.3 knobs 6 examples With locality 4 County onl1 y No locality 1 Two of the balls are atypical, having rounded projecting knobs making a more or less triangular object which is oval in section. The others have clear cut knobs. The distribution is wide, one from Orkney and others scattered between Banffshire and Angus. knobTYP4 example3 . 4 E2 s s With localit1 3 y County only 7 No locality 5 MARSHALL: CARVED STONE1 4 BALL | S Three of the balls have rounded knobs, all the rest are clear cut and well denned. The group as a whole is very well made. fro2 Ther2 me ear Aberdeenshire othere th , widele sar y distributed from Benbecula, fro, ArraW m e lond Wigtowth nan n a i CaithnessCumberland d nan an , S e th , Sutherlann di Rosd dan s and Cromarty in the N. The stone used is divided fairly evenly between the harder granite and greenstone and the more easily worked sandstones. knob4 TYP . sE2a with worked interspaces Thes l evenl ballal x ee si ysar mad finished ean d with well shaped rounded bosse r cleas o t triangle rcu n si interspacese th . TYPE 3. 5 knobs 3 examples With locality 3 three th ef o ball o decoratede sar Tw othee th , ovas ther i d deale an ylar t with under these types. TYPE 4. 6 knobs 173 examples With locality 102 County0 3 only No locality 41 This large grou bees pha n divided rather arbitrarily into those witknobw hlo r disc so thosd san e with prominent knobs. Fourteen have triangle bosse r interspacesse o th n si thesf o decoratede o ear tw , . There alse decorate6 ar o2 d balls whic listee har d with Type 9.1 hav adequato en e descriptio ballo d tw s an f no therefore cannot type them. example2 10 t knob6 sTYPcu w Wita Es4 lo h localit4 5 y County only 21 No locality 27 Twenty-eigh thesf o t e balls have clear-cut sharp-edged knobs. froTher7 3 me eAberdeenshirear rese th ,t are widely scattered from Caithness to Dumfries. The only one from the W was found at Castle Sween and may well have been a 'carried' specimen. Three come from England; Lowick, Durham and Bridlington. hardee Th r stone ballse s sandstonewerd th f an . o e 3 6 3 use1 r r dfo sfo knob6 TYP . sE4b prominen example5 5 t s With localit7 3 y County only 7 localito N y 11 Twelv f theseo e balls have clear-cut knobs rese roundede th ar ,t . fro1 Ther2 me ear Aberdeenshire . Apart fro outridere mth s from Irelan Lewid dRosd an Cromartyd san san l withiothere al th , e e nsth ar area bounde Morae th y dRivee b y th Firt d r hTayan . Three time mans sa made yar e fro granitee mth , greenstone, basalt type stonf so e than fro sandstonese mth . knob6 TYP . sE4c witexample4 1 h s With localit0 1 y worked County onl2 y interspaces No locality 2 These balls are all clearly cut and well defined, most of them with small triangles standing up in the interspaces. They are, to my mind, the most attractive of the carved stone balls. Two have the interspaces decorated with lines, chevrons, wavy line incised san d triangles como Tw ., e Caithnes N fro e mth d san Ros Cromartyd san l froothere al th , m e sAberdeenshirar fairld ean y closely grouped made ar f x eo Si . sandstone, two of granite, one of quartzite and one of diorite. TYPES knob7 . s 18 examples With localit1 1 y County only 4 No locality 3 | 4PROCEEDING2 S OF THE SOCIETY, 1976-7 .While all these balls have seven knobs, the treatment varies from prominent rounded bosses to shallow discs, and on some balls the knobs vary in size. Nine come from Aberdeenshire, one from Orkney, one from Aberfeld froe on m d Clovayan . Wher localite eth beside givens yi ar l eal , rivers hardee Th . r stone has been preferred in this group. knob8 TYP example. 9 E6 s s With localit7 y County onl2 y This group of balls has variety in the disposition of the eight knobs. Seven have knobs of the same size, five have clear cut knobs. In two examples the knobs are rounded, one has six large and two small knobs, another four larg foud ean r small almost falling int categore oth fouf yo r knobs with bosse intere th n s-i spaces, and the third with four bosses round the circumference, one small boss on one side and three very close togethe othee th eighs n rha o rsidet e evenlOn . y made bosses with three small one interspacesn si . Apart from the ball from Tarbert, Harris, all come from between the Moray Firth and the River Tay. None is described as made of sandstone. TYPE 6a. 9 knobs 3 examples With locality 2 No locality 1 The knobs on all the balls are uneven in size. The one in Inverurie Museum is crudely fashioned, while the foune fiela on n di near Kennowa wels yi l shaped witbossesw hlo othee Th . r example, from Crudens i , somewhat irregulamads i t i et frobu r mmetamorphia c quartzite touga , h ston worko et . TYPE 7. 10-55 knobs 52 examples With locality 26 County 4 onl1 y No locality 12 The 52 examples in this group have much in common in the way of execution and distribution. Twenty- seven come from Aberdeenshire. One from Skye may be a 'carried 'specimen. Generally the balls are well evenld an y made, wit bossee hth s well spaced somd an , difficule carrth t you t concept extremely well. havw fe e knobA f differinso describee b g n sizes t onlca beins x bu d,a y si g unevenly carved. There ear four from Orkney, thre f whiceo h stan t fro othere dou m th s becaus f theieo r prominent, even, sharply carved knobs which are almost cube-shaped. There are 10 made of sandstone and 12 of the granite-type stones. TYPES. Numerous knob example4 1 s s With localit1 1 y 70-160 County only 1 No locality 2 These balls are mostly well made, with small even knobs. The one in Elgin Museum with no locality and Britise th n i h e Museuon e th m from Cromart exceptionalle yar y well carved. Ther onle froex ar ysi m Aberdeenshire. Apart fro Orcadiae mth n example distributioe Typn si th , e7 thin i s grou wides pi r than Typ n greatei A .