SCULI'Tl/KED SLAB FRO ISLANE MTH BVKKA,F DO SHETLAND9 19 . ir. NOTIC A SCULPTURE F O E D SLAB FROE ISLANTH M F BURRADO , SHETLAND GILBERY B . T GOUDIE, F.S.A. SCOT. This unique monument, now safely deposited in the Museum of the Society, camo under my eye in the course of investigations which I made in the Burra Isles on the occasion of a visit to Shetland in the month of July 1877. Eichly sculpture wits i t wheel-croshi a s da f eleganso t design, with interlaced ornamentation of Celtic pattern, and a variety of figure subjects carefull ye ranke b executedy dma amont i , e foremosth g n i t interese Sculptureth f o t d Stone f Scotland o t si lay s , A wite . th h decorated side uppermost shora t a ,t distanc e churce soutth th f ho o eht in the ancient churchyard at Papil, it might have been noticed at any time by any one who chose to look for it, or who, chancing to observe it, had recognised its significanc a reli f s Christiao a ce t froar n ma perio f o d remote antiquity. But from age to age it appears to have escaped notice. Th Statisticaw e parisNe e th h l d clergymeAccountan d wroto Ol e snwh e th distric e e yearoth fth n si t 179 184d 9an 1 respectively, see havmo t e been unawar y othes existencit an rf f o o esculpture r o e d t i remains s i r no , noticed by any authors, natives or strangers, who have published accounts of the country from time to time, though the site is of more than ordinary interest ecclesiologically, from the fact of its having been occupied formerly by one of the towered churches of the north, of which that on the island of Egilsa Orknen y i e onlth ys y i preserved specimen s wila , l afterwards shown.e stonb e pass Th ha et memory marke e restindth ge placth f o e members of the family of Mr John Inkster, Baptist missionary in the island case s usua f th sucA eo n .i lh beed relicsha n t i regarde, n a s da importation t soma , e unknown period, from East.e "th " Beyond thio sn traditional idea appear havo st e been preserved regardin. git I lostimo n tcommunicatinn ei g wit Missee hth s Scot Scallowayf o t o t , whose family and that of the Sinclairs of House, whom they lineally PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , APRI , 1881L11 . represent, the islands of Buna have belonged for about four centuries.1 These ladies at once most courteously gave me their consent to the removal stone o th r fpreservatio efo n here d thisincs an ,ha s e been accomplished at the instance of Mr Lewis F.U. Garriock of Berry, through his agents acknowledgmentn ow y islee iM nth . thanke e Societth th d f e so san yar e Misse th dur Garrioc o eM t so t Scot their d kfo an tr obliging co-operation in facilitatin finae gth l acquiremen e Societye stoneth th r f fo o t . I TH ESCULPTURINGSS STONIT D EAN . The stone (tig. 1) is a slab of finely grained sandstone 6 feet 10 inches in length. The breadth of the upper portion, measured across the enclosing circle of the cross, is 1 foot 1\ inches. Towards the lower extremity the breadth is slightly contracted, the minimum breadth being 1 foot 5J inches. The thickness varies from \\o 2t ^ inches sculpturinge Th . n o e ar s one side only. The sculpturings are formed by incised lines, with the exception of the four figure f ecclesiasticso s n whici , h cas e whole baceth th kf e o groun s di recesse s wella dn generaI . l terms e sculpturth , e consist a cros f t so a s e topth , havin ga shor t shaft whic s flankehi eithen o d o r tw sid y b e ecclesiastical figures. Below this, and forming the base upon which the shaft rises, is a rectangular panel containing a grotesque animal; and at bottoe th figureso mtw ,hal n halfma f bir shapewholn e di Th boldls ei . y but carefully executed, and the drawing is characterised by no small degree of artistic precision. e cros Th s enclosei s d withi o circulatw n r e inciseth f o d s i lines d an , type known as Maltese, It is formed by intersecting arcs of circles, thus leaving four divisional spaces, vesiea shaped, whic e fille ar hn wit i d h 1 In 1527, whe attempn na Eare mad s Caithnesf th o l y wa t eb s wit stronha g mili- tary force to invade the Earldom of Orkney, he was met by the Orcadians and Shetlanders defeated an ,pitche slaina d an n di d battl , Summerdalat e Orkneyn i e . The Shetlanders were led on that occasion by Edward Sinclair of Strome, William Sinclai f Houseo r d Olivean , r Sinclai f Hilwro r a e [Havera]RESPITth e Se o Et . the otherd man s implicated, grante y Kindb e Appendigth Jame n i . Barry'sV o xt s " History of Orkney," p. 496. SCULPTURED SLAB FRO ISLANE MTH BUKEAF DO , SHETLAND1 20 . interlaced alsworke e trianguar o th s a , - lar spaces on either side below. The interlacements in the 'ym'ca-shaped spaces consis f circulao t r ringd an s figure intertwined8 f o s eacn i f hd o an , the triangular spaces is the well known triquetra knot. The arms and shaft e cros th oe leff ar st plain, wite th h exceptio incisen a f no d pattere th n no base of the shaft consisting of four inner loops encircle outeo tw ry donesb . The four figures of ecclesiastics are arranged two on each side facing in- wards toward shafte sth . Each holdsa crozier e baculaoith f o , staff shaped an , two of them have what appears to be an oblong satchel slung over the shoulder. They are habited in cloaks, which reac o neat e hankles, th rd har an e pointed hoods drawn ove headse th r . The grotesque animal below is ap- parently purely conventional t witbu , h certaia n resemblanc e a lion Th o t e. tongue protrudes and is curled round at the tip. The outline of the body is formed by a double incised line which curves round into spirals above each pair of the fore and hind legs. The tai twistes i l d forwards ovee th r back, and is drawn with a single incised line, as are also the jaws an e animaldth e feef Th o t . joints of the knees are empha- Fig . Sculpture1 . d Slab fro Churchyare mth f do Papil, Island of Burra. 2 20 PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , APKI , 1881L11 . sized by cross strokes which terminate the double lines round the body, tlie'outer line only being continued from the knee downwards. The five plainle feee clawth ar t f so y indicated e wholTh s enclose.i e d withina rectangular panel (formed by a double incised line) from the top of which springs the shaft of the cross. The two semi-human figures at the base hold axes in one hand which shouldere th res n to othee beinth ,m ar r g upraise eacn di h chine caseTh ,. eyed generaan , e heal forth s humandi f e mhuma n placo i th t f eo bu , n nose and mouth they are provided with elongated beaks. These beaks appea o meet r t together humaa o eyethroug f tw o s e n th hhea d placed between figuretheme clae Th shorar n .sdi t tunics reaching about half way to the knee. The legs are apparently those of birds, three claws on each foot being perfectly distinct. Part of the stone is scaled away between the two figures, so that doubts may be raised as to whether the mask, into whose eyebeake t th insertedhavse no ar s ey beema , n prolonged intoa body. The two figures are not enclosed within any marginal lines, and below them is a blank space where the slab was probably inserted into a stone base, or into the ground. The surface of the back of the slab is irregular, and there is no evidence of its ever having been enriched with sculpturing. I have confined foregoinmysele th n simpli a f o gt e descriptio f thno e sculpturings; and I prefer not to enter upon the consideration of the symbolic character which certain of the figures may bear. That these had a meaning perfectly recognisable at the time need not be doubted, but, in the present state of our knowledge, any attempt to define this meaning here woul mere db e speculation. Ther onle stoneo ear ytw s known n Scotlandi , whicn o , particulae hth r form of cross which we find on this stone occurs. These are, the stone on the roadside near Whithorn in Galloway,1 perhaps the earliest Christian sit n Scotlandei e elaboratelth d an , y sculptured stone fro islane mth f o d Bressay in Shetland.2 1 Sculptured Stones of Scotland, vol ii. p. 77. 2 Sculptured Stones of Scotland, vol i. p.. 95. • SCULPTURED SLAB FROM THE ISLAND OF BUKRA, SHETLAND.