BRONZE CUP, ETC., FOUND NEAR TABLAND, ABERDEENSHIRE. 203

III. NOTICE OF A BRONZE CUP AND OTHER OBJECTS POUND AP- PARENTL A SEPULCHRA N I Y L DEPOSIT NEAR TARLAND, ABERDEENSHIRE . GRAHAJ Y B . M CALLANDER, SECRETARY. The discover a smal f yo l hoar f relicdo s belongin e earlth yo gt Iron Age 1898n sand-pia i , n i , t Waulkmilla t e estatth f Melgumn eo o , , near Tarland s recordei , r Proceedings,ou n di vol. xxxix e hoar. 214p . Th . d consiste a smal f o d l penannular brooc f silvero h o disc tw f trans, o s - parent blue glass, two discs of variegated vitreous paste of turquoise blue, dull red, and yellow colours, and seven flat, rounded pebbles of

Fig. 1. Discs of quartzite, vitreous paste, and blue glass, and small penannular Brooch of silver found at Waulkmill. (\.) reddish-brown quartzite, which are illustrated full size on fig. 1; besides a baluster-shape thess wa e d objec f cleao t r glass, 1^- inch lond an g f inch in diameter. The record of the discovery states that a game- keeper digging in a sand-pit "came upon four undressed stones, each measuring abou fee2 t tinche8 1 broa d san dhigh , place e abovon d e another a deptfee4 t f a t, o h fro e surface,mth d tha furthen "an o t r searc founde h , along wite objectth h s just described, "tw r threo e pieces of steel or wrought iron, apparently the remains of some weapons, as well as a number of small bones " which crumbled away when lifted. The relics were acquire a policema y b d t Aboynea n t thebu , y were claime. MilneA . recovered J ,dan r proprietoM y e estatb dth f f o eo r Melgum afterwardo wh , s presented e Nationatheth mo t l MuseumA . year after the discovery a further find seems to have been made, as it was rumoured that "a number of silver articles were found in the same sand-pit, t thes"bu e tracede coulb t dno . Some years ago I called on a policeman in central Aberdeenshire to see a very good collection of prehistoric antiquities which he had gathered together, chiefly from the Buchan, Garioch, and Deeside 204 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , FEBRUAR , 1915Y9 .

district f Aberdeenshireo s . Amongst other things noted wer esmala l cup of cast bronze, the crown of a human molar tooth found in the cup, a disc of translucent blue glass broken in two, and twelve pebbles of brown, grey, and whitish quartzite. The owner said that the glass l thaal s dist remainewa c a numbe f do f similao r r object d othean s r relics founa sand-pi n i d t near Tarland, which wers e hi onc n i e possession but which he had been compelled to give up to the Laird; d kepe glasha th tha t e sh tdisc t beingi , broken thad e cupan th ,t , tooth, and pebbles had been found afterwards in the same sand-pit and he had secured them, their discovery having been kept secret.

Fig. 2. Cup of Bronze found near Tarland. Afte deat e I bough th rthin f ho relice sma th t s fro representativess mhi , and the exhibitee y ar Societe th o dt y to-night. The cup (fig. 2), even with about one-third of the brim and part of the bowl broken off, is a beautiful example of the bronze-founder's art. Gracefully designe decorated dan d with effective though restrained ornamentation t i furnishe, s another example testifyin e skillth ,o t g dexterity, and high state of excellence in craftsmanship and design attainee metal-workerth y b d f thio s s country abou e beginninth t g of thi se vesse a long eras Th ,.ha l straight, everted brim springing fro mslightla y constricted neck, whil lowee eth r par s semi-globulari t . e externaTh l diamete e moutth f s 2-o i rh J inchesnece th kf o ,I f inch, 9 e bulgth anf eo d l| e heighfth inchs 1d i Tt ¥an , inch. Thouga h casting, the thickness of metal in the bowl is less than\ inch; but e lipth , t whica h show a roundes d e outsidebeveth o t lt increasei , s T to about | inch in thickness. Encircling the neck itransverssa e row of small studs less than TV inch apart, with sharp conical heads pro- jecting aboutV inch outside the wall of the cup. Extending from

this row to th T e lip of the vessel there have apparently been three BRONZE CUP, ETC., FOUND NEAR TARLAND, ABERUEENSHIRE5 20 . groups of vertical rows of similar studs, but only one group composed of five row parsecond a sf an o t d survive othee th , r portio e seconth f no d ane e thirwholth th d df eo grou p havin gmissine beeth n no g portion of the brim. Between the neck and shoulder of the cup, under the encircling row of studs, is a very delicate raised bead or moulding. The studs have been inserted into carefully drilled holes and are riveted t castinga forme s no i p d f differendo cu an , e insidee oth n th s t A plate. s of hammered bronze, it is evident that the studs are entirely ornamental t structuralshowp no cu d e s an severaTh . l striking resemblanceo t s large threth ef o e globular cauldrons forme f beateo d n bronze plates riveted together whic e preservear h e Nationath n di l Collectione Th . cauldron f oxind in Carlingwark Loch, Kirkcudbrightshire (which contained

the fragments of a small bronze vessel and a Late Celti: c bronze handle, as well as many objects of Roman ironwork), like the cup exhibited has a globular base and a long, straight brim, only it is not everted. The example from Kincardine Moss, Stirling, singla s ha e transverse

ro f round-headewo d rivets encirclin e bulge vesseth d th g t an ea l 2 two vertical group f fivo s e rows eac he rim betweeth ;d thesan t ni e rivets, however, are structural as well as ornamental, as they join the different plates of which the vessel is formed. In the third vessel, found in the West of Scotland, there are three transverse rows of conical-

headed studs at the junction3 s of the plates and numerous vertical single row round-headef so d punch-marks betwee highese nth t transverse e shorth rod t wan everte d brim n thiI .s case rivet th ed stud an s s are both structural and ornamental. It may be noted that similar conical-headed rivets are seen in the fine Late Celtic helmet of bronze e Thamefounth n i d t Waterloa s o Bridge ,preserve w Londonno d an d, e Britisinth h Museum. e glasTh s dis s convei c d smoote uppean th x n ro h sidd flaan et and rough below t i measure; f i incs n diametei h |d ^ an incr n i h thickness. Simila t runcommo objectno e ar sn Roma o n n sitesd an , they have been found in the Roman camps at Newstead,4 Birrens,5 Camelon.d an 8 These discs s wela , s flata l , round pebble discd san f o s bone which have also been foun^J on Roman sites, are believed to have been "men r countero " n somi s e game perhaps resembling draughts.

e noteb y d ma tha t e shapa I boara tstonth f n o ei de slab having 7

1 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. vii. p. 7. 2 Ibid., vol. xix. p. 313. 3 Ibid., p. 314. 4 James Curie RomanA , Frontier Post—Newstead, 338. p . 5 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Ibid.,8 Scot.,vol. xxxv vol . 397..p xxx. . 192.p . 7 I have seen a disc of clear green bottle glass with an inlaid ladder-like design of coloured enamel, similar in size and shape to those described, which was found in the West Highlands. This ladder-like design is seen on a dark blue background in some of our Scottish beads, and con- sequently may give a hint as to the probable date of this type of bead. 206 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 9, 1915.

fifty-six squares roughl e Romas founyth wa incisen i dt ni n statiodo n at Corbridge in the North of England. Of the twelve pebbles exhibited, only one resembles those first recovered froe sand-pitmth s slightli t i ; f reddish-browyo ovad an l n colour othee Th r. examples'ma e ordinaryb y "chuckle" stones deposited t collecte watey no b d manran y d b t threuncommo n a ,bu f thef eo o e mar n red or reddish-brown colour, and only a visit to the sand-pit could show if such pebbles are common to the locality. Regardin e silvegth r brooch found wit e firshth t batc f relicsho t i , has its prototype elsewhere in Scotland. Small penannular brooches with the ring circular in section have been found on Roman and native sites, but this brooch has a ring oval in section and is provided with a peculiar bow-shaped pin flattened at the point. In many fibula? and brooche shapee arrangemensd th an assisn pi assigninn e ti th f o t gdata e themo t possibld an , y with suc ha characteristi s seei thin s no a sn cpi example we may be justified in placing it in the same period as brooches similarly supplied though of different size. A penannular brooch having a ring of oval section and bow-shaped pin with flattened point, bearing Late Celtic enamelled decoration, and measuring 2 inches by If inch in diameter, was found at Newstead,1 and was believed to date to the latter half of the second century A.D. ; and a similar example, but without ornamentation, from the Culbiii Sands, Morayshire, is preserved in r Museumou . There seems little doubt that the cup belongs to the same hoard as the brooch, discs of glass and vitreous paste, and flat pebbles. As bones were noted f relicwheo e firs t nth slo twer e discovere a hxima d dan n molar toots founwa h d insid e cupth e , presumabl e deposiyth s wa t sepulchral. Few burials of the Early Iron Age have been recorded from Scotland, the only examples I know being the cist at Moredun, Gilmerton, Midlothian,' e cairnth t d Gullanea s an 2 , East Lothian. formee th n I r3 wer e skeletaeth l remain persono Tena fibula tw L d f f eso o a an stype , a circular brooch ring-headea d lattee an , th n r i ironf d o d pin l an ;al , were human remains, a bronze finger-ring, and an iron dagger or knife. From the shape, and character of the ornament, of the cup it is evident tha t belong i t time th eo t swhe e largnth e Scottish cauldrons •were fashioned, that is the Late Celtic or Early Iron Age; and from the discover f broocheyo glasd an sr vitreou o s s paste disc Roman o s n sites n Scotlani d which were occupied chiefly durin e secongth d centurf yo this era, similar in character to those from the sand-pit, it seems quite

safe to assign the Tarland hoard to the early centuries of our era. Jame1 s Curie RomanA , Frontier Post—Newstead, . 327p , pi. Ixxxviii. fig. 7 . 2 froc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. xxxviii. p. 427. 3 Ibid., vol. xlii. p. 332.