Posted on 02/14/2008 2:40:39 PM PST by blam
Lasers conserve Pictish treasures
The Pictish carved stones date from the decades before 843 AD
High-tech laser technology has been used to record and conserve one of the finest collections of Pictish carved stones in Scotland. The St Vigeans Stones from Arbroath are being cleaned by a specialist team of Historic Scotland experts in Edinburgh.
Earlier efforts at conservation, dating back to the 1960s, carried out using the best techniques of the time have now reached the end of their life.
The project removes the earlier repairs and uses more modern treatments.
The project is part of works to upgrade St Vigeans Museum of Pictish Carved Stones in Arbroath.
It is hoped the stones will be returned by the end of this year with the new-look museum reopening in time for Easter 2009.
Fresh research into the 38 stones suggests St Vigeans was once home to an important royal monastery.
It has also cast fresh light on the religious beliefs of the Picts, to fill gaps in understanding of their culture and ideas.
Stephen Gordon, Historic Scotland senior conservator, said: "The improvements to the museum gave us an excellent opportunity to bring the stones to Edinburgh, where we have the specialist staff and equipment to undertake some thorough conservation treatment and prepare new mounts.
"This has included using special laser techniques that are superb for removing dirt, or other unwanted materials, without affecting the stones themselves.
St Vigeans Museum of Pictish Carved Stones reopens in 2009
"Earlier efforts at conservation, dating back to the 1960s, have now reached the end of their life.
"This project gives us the opportunity to remove these earlier repairs and use more modern and appropriate treatments and mounting methods."
The collection includes the Drosten Stone, a cross slab with ornate cross and fantastic beasts, plus a rare Latin and Pictish inscription which might have commemorated King Uoret who died around 842 AD.
The stones date from the decades before 843 AD when the Pictish kingdom was united with Gaelic Dalriada under a single monarch, leading to the birth of Scotland.
Peter Yeoman, Historic Scotland senior archaeologist, said: "The stones are among the last and very finest expressions of Pictish art, which makes them tremendously important.
"These large stone crosses would originally have been set up as monuments, boundary markers and gravestones on the church hill at St Vigeans.
"We have known for some time that the area was an important royal centre, but the latest thinking is that the high quality carvings, with scriptural images, indicate that there was not just a church but an important monastery under royal patronage at St Vigeans.
"It may also have been a significant pilgrimage centre, perhaps due to the presence of relics of the Irish St Fechin, from who the village took its name."
DNA Test Can Detect Picts' Descendants
By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
(Filed: 14/08/2006)
A geneticist has created a DNA test for "Scottishness" that will tell people whether they are direct descendants of the Picts.
The test, expected to cost about £130, checks a sample of saliva against 27 genetic markers linked to some of the earliest inhabitants of Scotland.
Dr Jim Wilson, of the public health sciences department at Edinburgh University, said: "We started this work a few years ago, looking at the Norse component, and we proved that a large proportion of people on Orkney are descended from Vikings.
"Now the markers have moved on massively and we have discovered that we can trace back the component of the indigenous Picts by looking at the unique grouping of their Y-chromosome. We believe that this would have been found only in Scotland."
Scientists were able to isolate the unique Pictish DNA strands from 1,000-year-old bone fragments found in ancient burial grounds
If it is both in Pictish and Latin, then they should be able to translate the Pictish and find out something about the language.
I thought they knew absolutely nothing about Pictish??
Anyway, thanks for posting!
And so now Blam you can test to see if you are also Pictish and cover yourself with woad.
Oh woad is me!
"...As these folk were part of the ancient Briton's R1b, being themselves an early Celtic people [Proto-Celt] I have them as being R1b.
Given that this includes most of Britain then any one with a British grandmother is of the 'Ancient Briton' line. Pict was the name the Roman's gave them to mean 'Painted' hence the 'blue faces' in 'Brave Heart' the movie. The later 'Celt's' who were from continental Europe had the same origins as the natives of Briton, and so their R1b DNA just blended in. This has been confirmed by testing. What is of great surprise is that according to the BBC study for the Viking's, we just didn't know how Celtic the British were.
Approx. 70% Celtic [ancient Briton] in the Y-line and 95% in the mt-line. Southern English are as Celtic as the Highlands of Scotland and the Irish and Welsh are the same.
I’ve traced my ancestors back to the picts. Ancestry.com has alot of info and the DNA tests are unbelievable.
I just look for who I know that likes to be naked and painted blue! If I find such a person, there is a high probability he/she is of Pictish descent.
I’ve done this and I am.
Are Picts and Nits related?
Really? What are your yDNA & mtDNA haplotypes?
Nah. You're just nit-Picting now.
Have they found the remains of Bran Mak Morn, as of yet.
Thanks for the great post Blam!
Always enjoy reading your stuff!
Hey Sarge!
PING!
I don’t have a yDNA test as I am an only child and don’t have a DNA sample from my father. So only mtDNA. I intend to see if my cousin will test on my father’s side and see if I can get better luck with that.
I actually plan to visit St Vigeans as it is where my paternal great - grandmother was from and had planned on checking out the musuem. Too bad it is closed until 2009!
Of great interest to me. Thanks.
You have the same yDNA as your father...it's just that you (female) can't pass it on.
"St Vigeans is a small village and parish in Angus, Scotland."
My dad had a brother named Angus. His mother, Mrs Smith's (my grandmother) DNA indicates she's from an ancient cluster in Scotland that is the same in Finland. These two clusters were once together before there was a North Sea. It is U5a1a the same as 9,000 year old Cheddar Man.
"LONDON (Reuter) British scientists Saturday celebrated their feat of tracing a living descendant of a 9,000-year-old skeleton and establishing the world's oldest known family tree. "
So far all they can translate are words in pict-latin...
As a female, I only qualified for the mitochondrial DNA test. They said for the paternal lineage, they would have to have a male relative of a direct line (brother, father or male cousin of same grandparents). I am not a DNA expert, by any stretch. I am only going on what they told me. If they are incorrect, I would love to know so I can get the other tests done!
Here is the link, maybe if you know alot about DNA, you could help me. I am not being sarcastic, I am being serious. I am so fascinated by this!
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WHY GENDER MATTERS
The type of DNA test you can take depends on your gender. The Paternal Lineage test analyzes DNA found on Y-chromosome which is present only for males.
The Maternal Lineage test analyzes DNA found in mitochondria, which is present in both females and males.
CHOOSING Y-33 vs Y-46
The Paternal Lineage Y-chromosome 33 test is recommended because it provides the minimum number of markers needed to obtain a meaningful match between participants.
You may choose the Y-chromosome 46 test if you want to further narrow the span of generations for finding a common ancestor with another participant’s Y-46 test.
MATERNAL LINEAGE
Matching your maternal lineage results can help you find participants who share your ancient ancestry. Maternal test can determine whether participants are NOT related by having one or more result mismatches.
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