Tim Clarkson's Blog, page 11

Book news

Birlinn Books of Edinburgh, the publishers of my books, have now transferred The Picts and The Makers Of Scotland to their main imprint. Both originally appeared under the John Donald subsidiary imprint, which is where Birlinn tend to place most of their scholarly non-fiction titles. My two academic books – The Men Of The North and Columba - will remain at John Donald.

The move has necessitated a format change for Picts and Makers, with both being slightly reduced in size. In the case of Maker...

Kirkmadrine: a major monastery?

Kirkmadrine Church (Photo © B Keeling

The Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies at the University of Glasgow hosts a series of lectures, many of which I would dearly love to attend if I could get there easily. Those of us who don’t reside within a 200-mile radius of Glasgow can, however, see useful summaries of the lectures at the Centre’s blog.

Back in May, a lecture that I was particularly sorry to miss was given by Katherine Forsyth and Adrián Maldonado. Their title was A magnum monasterium...

Columba 1450

Iona Abbey (engraving by J Greig, 1817)

Three days ago, on Saturday 20 July, the President of Ireland – Michael D Higgins – visited Iona Abbey to attend an ecumenical service marking the 1450th anniversary of St Columba’s arrival on the western shores of Britain in 563. Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop gave a speech in which she drew attention to the numerous historical links between Ireland and Scotland: “St Columba’s journey to Iona is just one of the many events which have created ou...

The Arthurlie Cross

(Photo © B Keeling)

Some examples of Pictish sculpture are off the beaten track and not always easy to get to, especially if sited on agricultural land or at a considerable distance from a road. This doesn’t seem to be an issue with the carved stones of Strathclyde which are generally quite accessible, even though none are signposted. They are, of course, far fewer in number than the Pictish stones, and are confined within a much smaller area. I should add that I’m referring here to stones dis...

Visit the Govan Stones

Copyright © Tom Manley Photography

Last week saw the official unveiling of the Govan Stones in their new positions, following a major project to improve their display and interpretation. This stunning collection of early medieval sculpture has now re-opened for the summer season and can be visited free of charge. The 31 monuments include the magnificent Govan Sarcophagus, carved from a single block of sandstone and depicting a hunting scene reminiscent of Pictish examples. Similarly impressive...

5th Anniversary

The Senchus blog is 5 years old today.

Back in 2008 it began as a notepad or jotter for various historical musings, but I’m not sure how to describe it now.

Thanks to everyone who has given input via the comment threads, where many interesting discussions have taken place over the years. And special thanks to Michelle Ziegler for pointing me towards WordPress, which has certainly made the admin side easy and straightforward.

Future plans? Hard to say, but I’ll probably just continue as before. P...

The Last Of The Free

With next year’s referendum fast approaching, the question of whether Scotland should regain her independence is being hotly debated. It’s a serious issue for everyone involved and emotions are running high on both sides. The entire process is something I’ll be observing from a distance, as I’m not a resident of Scotland (nor, indeed, am I of Scottish descent). We who dwell south of the Tweed, and especially those of us with no ancestral connections north of it, are mere bystanders. This is h...

Govan hogbacks redisplayed

‘Viking’ hogback gravestone at Govan Old Parish Church (from Sir John Stirling-Maxwell’s Sculptured Stones in the Kirkyard of Govan, 1899).

Last week at my other blog Heart Of The Kingdom I mentioned that the hogbacks have recently been moved to their new positions in Govan Old Parish Church. I also posted a link to a nice gallery of photographs from the Facebook page of the Weaving Truth With Trust project. These images are well worth seeing, so I’m re-posting the gallery link below.

The Govan...

Trusty’s Hill: Guided Walk Training

Here’s a great idea from the Galloway Picts Project – a training session on how to conduct a tour of the hillfort on Trusty’s Hill. Archaeologist Ronan Toolis, co-director of last year’s excavations, will be running this free event. It will be held on Saturday 8 June at the Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse-of-Fleet, starting at 10.00am and finishing at 1.00pm after a visit to the hillfort. This is a training session for non-specialists who just want to be able to show family and friends around...

Discover Dark Age Galloway

‘In Galloway, on the fringes of what had been Roman Britain’s northern frontier, the kingdom of Rheged emerged in the fifth and sixth century AD.’

So says Discover Dark Age Galloway, a new leaflet produced by GUARD Archaeology for the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. This attractive little publication is available free of charge from a number of tourist venues in the area.

It’s well-written and informative, and also nicely illustrated. The colourful reconstru...