|
The Carved Stone Balls are distinctly Scottish objects with the majority found in Aberdeenshire. However several have been discovered in Orkney and a few have been found on Skye, Iona, Lewis, Harris and Uist. In addition, some have been uncovered in Ireland and England. The balls are attractive objects and small enough to have been easily carried away.
The Carved Stone Balls are all very similar in size with an average diameter of 2 3/4" or 70mm. Within this uniformity of size there is a wide range of decoration, some have numerous knobs, others have spirals or incised designs.
The Museum has around 27 carved stone balls in its collection which provides a cross section of all the types. Eleven types have been identified according to their decoration and more information on the types is available.
Marshall's study has been used to group the balls into types. Her paper can be found at
Marshall D 1976 "Carved Stone Balls", Proc Soc Antiq Scot (1976-7) 40 -72, and also provides an extensive bibliography.
|
