Section.
Fig. 28.—Linen Smoother of Black Glass, modern (3 inches diameter).
It has thus been demonstrated that every feature of these two Islay burials, and every object associated with them, is clearly of Norwegian type, and of the heathen period of their Viking time—that is, of the period ranging between the beginning of the eighth and the end of the tenth centuries—and that the sword of this peculiar form and the bowl-shaped brooch of this remarkable type are the most characteristic objects associated with this class of burials.
The next question that presents itself for determination is, What is the range or area of this type of burial, associated with these types of objects, in Scotland?
Fig. 29.—Brooch found at Ballinaby, Islay, in 1788.
One of a pair (4¼ inches in length).
On this same estate of Ballinaby, in Islay, a grave was discovered under a large standing-stone in the year 1788. There is no precise record of the circumstances beyond the fact that a pair of oval bowl-shaped brooches (Fig. [29]) were found in it. They were presented to the National Museum, and are thus preserved. They are of the same variety of type as those previously described, but differing somewhat in the patterns of their ornamentation. They are 4¼ inches in length, 2⅞ inches in breadth, and 1¼ inch in height. Their pins were of iron and are gone, but the hinge and catch remain in both. The central ornament of the upper shell is a raised boss, cast hollow in the metal, chased on the upper surface, and pierced with four holes. The channels cut in the bands of unpierced metal between the patterns of pierced work, and the holes through which the plaited strands of silver wires had passed, are visible, but the wires themselves are gone. The holes for the pins that fastened the studs of coloured paste on the circular spaces at the junction of the bands are there, but pins and studs are both wanting. The patterns of the ornamentation are zoomorphic, representing winged, dragon-like animals placed face to face. The band round the lower part of the under shell of the brooch is filled with a suggestion of zoomorphic patterns in panels, and the flange or flat border underneath it is divided into a series of raised and sunk spaces, produced apparently by a triangular punch.
Fig. 30.—Brooch found in a grave near Newton, Islay.
One of a pair (4⅛ inches in length).
In 1845 a similar burial was discovered in the strath near Newton Distillery, also in Islay. No record of the circumstances is preserved, but two oval bowl-shaped brooches (Fig. [30]) and an amber bead, which were found in the grave, are in the possession of Mr. John Campbell of Islay. The brooches are each 4⅛ inches in length, 2¾ inches in width, and 1 inch in height. The pins had been of iron and are gone, but the hinge and catch are still traceable. These brooches differ from those that have been already described, inasmuch as they are not double shelled but cast in one piece, that is, they are made of a single shell, which is chased, but not pierced in open-work patterns. The division and the arrangement of the patterns are much the same as in those first described, but there are no channels in the partitions for silver wires, and the partitions themselves are ornamented with a species of fret. The circular spaces at the junctions of the partitions have been ornamented with studs of paste pinned on, but studs and pins are both gone. The patterns of the ornamentation are executed with a graving tool, but they exhibit so little coherency of design that it is impossible to call them zoomorphic.[[24]]