Drawing showing cinerary urn from Grimbister, Parish of Firth, Orkney.

Description Drawing showing cinerary urn from Grimbister, Parish of Firth, Orkney.

Date 1/11/1859

Collection Records of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland

Catalogue Number DC 63606

Category Prints and Drawings

Copies DP 297429

Scope and Content Watercolour drawing of urn and a pencil sketch of an unidentifed object on page 2 in sketchbook by George Petrie. Cinerary urn found inverted over a cremation deposit, amongst stones on the farm of Grimbister. Captioned: '1 Nov 1859. scale of 1/4 insh to the inch. Drawn by G. Petrie. Cinerary Urn of burnt clay found embedded in clay and surrounded by a large collection of Stones of which may have originally formed a Barrow or grave mound on the farm of Grimbister, Parish of Firth. The Urn was not as is usually the case enclosed in a Cist. It was 15 inches in diameter at the widest part - xx at the rings, 8 inches in diameter at the narrowest part or bottom and 15 inches in height. It was placed mouth downwards on a flat stone, and on the bottom which was broken the fragments being in the inside a stone was placed. Probably the bottom when entire had been perforated by a small opening which was covered by the stone. Inside the urn on the stone was a considerable quantity of xxx or vitrified substance having fragments of bone embedded in it, a considerable quantity of the stone lay in the clay around the Urn and a fragment of the jawbone of a horse was said to have been xx xx in a caxx state. Fragments of a human skull xx on the xx[stone?]'.

Accession Number 1975/12

External Reference SAS 487 (3)

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1350718