Pygmy vessel, Greystone Park, Dumfries
Greystone Park, Dumfries
A rounded pygmy cup with thick sides and a flat base with
decorative lines on the outside, with one below the rim, and a pair
with a row of dots between them at the widest point around the
side. With a pair of holes pierced through the side, the cup has a
fine grained matrix in an orange-pink colour.
Despite their name these were not cups as they are too full of
holes to have held liquid! This cup was found when a stone which
had once formed part of a stone circle was re-erected in 1887.
Bones and charcoal were also discovered at the site.
The Society contacted Dr Anderson of the Antiquarian Museum,
Edinburgh concerning the find. He replied,
"The purpose of these tiny vessels has given rise to a
variety of conjectures. It has been suggested that they may have
been censers or incense cups, or lamps, or salt-cellers or vessels
for carrying the sacred fire that was to light the funeral pile, or
cups for the strong drink that was required on the occasion of the
funeral feast, or vessels destined to contain the ashes of the
brain or heart, or for the bones of an infant sacrificed on the
death of its mother. All these conjectures are equally probable,
inasmuch as they are all equally unsupported by evidence"
Object no :
RPD0094
Collection :
Creator :
NA
Place of Production :
NA
Dimensions :
height: 57 mm diameter (base): 60 mm diameter (rim): 40 mm
Materials :
ceramic
Location :
Greystone Park, Dumfries
Accession number :
DUMFM:1934.63
Copyright :
NA