A mystery has arisen concerning symbol-inscribed stones in Scotland that predate the formation of Scotland itself.
The stones are believed to have been carved by the Picts, who lived in a kingdom which covered much of what is now Scotland from the 300s to the 800s.
Researchers say that rather than being images, these symbols may actually be words.
But this theory has led to criticism from many quarters.
The research team, led by Professor Rob Lee from Exeter University in the UK, examined symbols on more than 200 carved stones.
The Picts, whose name means "painted ones" thanks to their tendency to cover their faces in paint, were a Celtic people who lived in the largest kingdom in what is now Scotland.
The Picts were fierce fighters, first repelling invasion from the Romans and then the Anglo-Saxons (English). If they hadn't defeated the Anglo-Saxons, Scotland may never have existed. Instead, England would be occupying that area.
Northumbria, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which occupied what is now northeastern England and southeastern Scotland, was rapidly expanding further north into what is now Scotland, putting the Picts at risk. Under King Oswui, the Northumbrians moved their frontier from the River Forth to the River Tay, further into Pict territory.
However, in 672, after the death of King Oswui, the Picts rose against their Anglo-Saxon, overlords, expelling Drust, their Northumbrian puppet king.
Northumbria's new king, Ecgfrith, therefore decided to wreak his revenge on the Picts, massacring them at a battle near what is now Grangemouth in Scotland. So many Picts died that the Northumbrians could walk dry-shod across both rivers.
By 681, the Anglo-Saxons had even bult a bishopric on the southern shore of the Forth, symbolising Northumbria's grip on the Picts.
But the Picts got their ultimate revenge. At 3pm on Saturday 2nd March 685 the Picts defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, allowing the Picts to reclaim territory to the south.
Never again were the Anglo-Saxons a major force in what is now Scotland. But, in time, the once-independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, each with their own royal families, eventually merged to form what is now England.
If the Northumbrians were successful in their aim of conquering the Picts and other Scottish tribes, what is now Scotland would instead have all been England.
Ancient language mystery deepens
By Victoria Gill Science reporter
BBC News
11 August 2010
Many of the stones are believed to have been carved during the 6th Century
A linguistic mystery has arisen surrounding symbol-inscribed stones in Scotland that predate the formation of the country itself.
The stones are believed to have been carved by members of an ancient people known as the Picts, who thrived in what is now Scotland from the 4th to the 9th Centuries.
These symbols, researchers say, are probably "words" rather than images.
But their conclusions have raised criticism from some linguists.
The research team, led by Professor Rob Lee from Exeter University in the UK, examined symbols on more than 200 carved stones.
They used a mathematical method to quantify patterns contained within the symbols, in an effort to find out if they conveyed meaning.
Professor Lee described the basis of this method.
"If I told you the first letter of a word in English was 'Q' and asked you to predict the next letter, you would probably say 'U' and you would probably be right," he explained.
"But if I told you the first letter was 'T' you would probably take many more guesses to get it right - that's a measure of uncertainty."
Using the symbols, or characters, from the stones, Prof Lee and his colleagues measured this feature of so-called "character to character uncertainty".
They concluded that the Pictish carvings were "symbolic markings that communicated information" - that these were words rather than pictures.
Prof Lee first published these conclusions in April of this year. But a recent article by French linguist Arnaud Fournet opened up the mystery once again.
Mr Fournet said that, by examining Pictish carvings as if they were "linear symbols", and by applying the rules of written language to them, the scientists could have produced biased results.
He told BBC News: "It looks like their method is transforming two-dimensional glyphs into a one-dimensional string of symbols.
"The carvings must have some kind of purpose - some kind of meanings, but... it's very difficult to determine if their conclusion is contained in the raw data or if it's an artefact of their method."
Mr Fournet also suggested that the researchers' methods should be tested and verified for other ancient symbols.
"The line between writing and drawing is not as clear cut as categorised in the paper," Mr Fournet wrote in his article. "On the whole the conclusion remains pending."
But Prof Lee says that his most recent analysis of the symbols, which has yet to be published, has reinforced his original conclusions.
He also stressed he did not claim that the carvings were a full and detailed record of the Pictish language.
"The symbols themselves are a very constrained vocabulary," he said. "But that doesn't mean that Pictish had such a constrained vocabulary."
He said the carvings might convey the same sort of meaning as a list, perhaps of significant names, which would explain the limited number of words used.
"It's like finding a menu for a restaurant [written in English], and that being your sole repository of the English language."
The Kingdom of the Picts
Known as 'Picti' by the Romans, meaning 'Painted Ones' in Latin, these northern tribes constituted the largest kingdom in Dark Age Scotland. They repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles, creating a true north-south divide on the British Isles, only to disappear from history by the end of the first millennium - swallowed whole by the history of another group, the Gaels. Together they created the Kingdom of Alba - Scotland.
The Picts took part in one of the most decisive battles in Scottish history - the Battle of Dun Nechtain (Dunnichen). If the Picts had lost, Scotland might never have existed.
For the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria it was simply a disaster - ending their domination of Scotland.
The Battle of Dun Nechtain was fought on Saturday 2nd March 685 AD and is one of the best recorded events in Dark Age Scotland. We even know that it was fought at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
The Kingdom of the Angles under King Oswui had rapidly expanded north, moving their frontier from the River Forth to the River Tay. Since 653 AD many of the major groups of people in Scotland - Britons, Gaels and much of Pictland - had been subject to the overlordship of King Oswui. In 672 AD, after the death of Oswui, the Picts rose against their overlords, expelling Drust, their Northumbrian puppet king.
The new King of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, wasted no time in wreaking revenge on the Picts. The Picts were massacred at a battle near the town of Grangemouth, where the rivers Carron and Avon meet.
According to Northumbrian sources, so many Picts died they could walk dry-shod across both rivers.
By 681 AD Ecgfrith had founded a bishopric at Abercorn on the southern shore of the Forth - a symbol of Northumbria's secure grip over the Picts.
The defeated Picts took Bridei, son of Bili, as the king of a much depleted Pictland. King Bridei was actually the cousin of his mortal enemy, King Ecgfrith of the Angles, but, in true Dark Age fashion, this didn't diminish their mutual desire to destroy each other. An almighty battle was on the cards.
The Chronicle of Holyrood gives us the best account of the battle: "In the year 685 King Ecgfrith rashly led an army to waste the province of the Picts, although many of his friends opposed it...and through the enemy's feigning flight he was led into the defiles of inaccessible mountains, and annihilated, with great part of his forces he had brought with him."
The Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people, came to Britain from continental Europe and established several kingdoms which later unified to form England. But they failed to get a foothold in the north of the island - that's why Scotland exists.
The Angles were advancing up Strathmore, probably aiming for the Pictish fortress of Dunnottar, when they fell into Bridei's trap. Sighting a Pictish warband, the Angles set off in pursuit, then, as they came over the cleft in Dunnichen Hill, they found themselves confronted by the main body of the Pictish army. Caught between the Picts and the loch below the hill, the Angles bravely faced their doom.
The politcal map was altered. The Picts, Gaels and many Britons were freed from Northumbrian overlordship. Gaelic poets as far away as Ireland celebrated the battle's outcome. The Pictish frontier returned to the River Forth near Edinburgh and the Bishop of Abercorn fled, never to return. The Angles never fully recovered as major force in Scotland.
It is no coincidence that the Picts mysterious disappearance occurs at the same time as the creation of the kingdom of Alba. For many years Gaelic influence in Pictland had been on the rise. The Gaelic religion of Christianity had spread throughout Pictish lands and with it many Gaelic traditions. Furthermore, through a mixture of conquest and inter-marriage Gaelic or Gaelicised royalty had succeeded to the Pictish throne (a notable example of this being Kenneth MacAlpin).
Finally in 878 AD the Pictish king, Áed, was murdered and replaced by a Gael - Giric.
Giric accelerated the Gaelic takeover of Pictish politics during his reign making the Gaelic language and traditions commonplace. Even after Giric was finally deposed in 889 AD future Pictish kings such as Donald and Constantine embraced Gaelic culture.
By 900 AD Pictland ceased to exist. The reign of Donald is listed in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba as a king of Alba. Pictland and Dál Riata had gone and in their place Alba - a Gaelic word for Scotland - was created. In this simple listing in an obscure book Scotland has its origins.
bbc.co.uk
The stones are believed to have been carved by the Picts, who lived in a kingdom which covered much of what is now Scotland from the 300s to the 800s.
Researchers say that rather than being images, these symbols may actually be words.
But this theory has led to criticism from many quarters.
The research team, led by Professor Rob Lee from Exeter University in the UK, examined symbols on more than 200 carved stones.
The Picts, whose name means "painted ones" thanks to their tendency to cover their faces in paint, were a Celtic people who lived in the largest kingdom in what is now Scotland.
The Picts were fierce fighters, first repelling invasion from the Romans and then the Anglo-Saxons (English). If they hadn't defeated the Anglo-Saxons, Scotland may never have existed. Instead, England would be occupying that area.
Northumbria, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which occupied what is now northeastern England and southeastern Scotland, was rapidly expanding further north into what is now Scotland, putting the Picts at risk. Under King Oswui, the Northumbrians moved their frontier from the River Forth to the River Tay, further into Pict territory.
However, in 672, after the death of King Oswui, the Picts rose against their Anglo-Saxon, overlords, expelling Drust, their Northumbrian puppet king.
Northumbria's new king, Ecgfrith, therefore decided to wreak his revenge on the Picts, massacring them at a battle near what is now Grangemouth in Scotland. So many Picts died that the Northumbrians could walk dry-shod across both rivers.
By 681, the Anglo-Saxons had even bult a bishopric on the southern shore of the Forth, symbolising Northumbria's grip on the Picts.
But the Picts got their ultimate revenge. At 3pm on Saturday 2nd March 685 the Picts defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, allowing the Picts to reclaim territory to the south.
Never again were the Anglo-Saxons a major force in what is now Scotland. But, in time, the once-independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, each with their own royal families, eventually merged to form what is now England.
If the Northumbrians were successful in their aim of conquering the Picts and other Scottish tribes, what is now Scotland would instead have all been England.
Ancient language mystery deepens
By Victoria Gill Science reporter
BBC News
11 August 2010
Many of the stones are believed to have been carved during the 6th Century
A linguistic mystery has arisen surrounding symbol-inscribed stones in Scotland that predate the formation of the country itself.
The stones are believed to have been carved by members of an ancient people known as the Picts, who thrived in what is now Scotland from the 4th to the 9th Centuries.
These symbols, researchers say, are probably "words" rather than images.
But their conclusions have raised criticism from some linguists.
The research team, led by Professor Rob Lee from Exeter University in the UK, examined symbols on more than 200 carved stones.
They used a mathematical method to quantify patterns contained within the symbols, in an effort to find out if they conveyed meaning.
Professor Lee described the basis of this method.
"If I told you the first letter of a word in English was 'Q' and asked you to predict the next letter, you would probably say 'U' and you would probably be right," he explained.
"But if I told you the first letter was 'T' you would probably take many more guesses to get it right - that's a measure of uncertainty."
Using the symbols, or characters, from the stones, Prof Lee and his colleagues measured this feature of so-called "character to character uncertainty".
They concluded that the Pictish carvings were "symbolic markings that communicated information" - that these were words rather than pictures.
Prof Lee first published these conclusions in April of this year. But a recent article by French linguist Arnaud Fournet opened up the mystery once again.
Mr Fournet said that, by examining Pictish carvings as if they were "linear symbols", and by applying the rules of written language to them, the scientists could have produced biased results.
He told BBC News: "It looks like their method is transforming two-dimensional glyphs into a one-dimensional string of symbols.
"The carvings must have some kind of purpose - some kind of meanings, but... it's very difficult to determine if their conclusion is contained in the raw data or if it's an artefact of their method."
Mr Fournet also suggested that the researchers' methods should be tested and verified for other ancient symbols.
"The line between writing and drawing is not as clear cut as categorised in the paper," Mr Fournet wrote in his article. "On the whole the conclusion remains pending."
But Prof Lee says that his most recent analysis of the symbols, which has yet to be published, has reinforced his original conclusions.
He also stressed he did not claim that the carvings were a full and detailed record of the Pictish language.
"The symbols themselves are a very constrained vocabulary," he said. "But that doesn't mean that Pictish had such a constrained vocabulary."
He said the carvings might convey the same sort of meaning as a list, perhaps of significant names, which would explain the limited number of words used.
"It's like finding a menu for a restaurant [written in English], and that being your sole repository of the English language."
The Kingdom of the Picts
Known as 'Picti' by the Romans, meaning 'Painted Ones' in Latin, these northern tribes constituted the largest kingdom in Dark Age Scotland. They repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles, creating a true north-south divide on the British Isles, only to disappear from history by the end of the first millennium - swallowed whole by the history of another group, the Gaels. Together they created the Kingdom of Alba - Scotland.
The Picts took part in one of the most decisive battles in Scottish history - the Battle of Dun Nechtain (Dunnichen). If the Picts had lost, Scotland might never have existed.
For the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria it was simply a disaster - ending their domination of Scotland.
The Battle of Dun Nechtain was fought on Saturday 2nd March 685 AD and is one of the best recorded events in Dark Age Scotland. We even know that it was fought at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
The Kingdom of the Angles under King Oswui had rapidly expanded north, moving their frontier from the River Forth to the River Tay. Since 653 AD many of the major groups of people in Scotland - Britons, Gaels and much of Pictland - had been subject to the overlordship of King Oswui. In 672 AD, after the death of Oswui, the Picts rose against their overlords, expelling Drust, their Northumbrian puppet king.
The new King of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, wasted no time in wreaking revenge on the Picts. The Picts were massacred at a battle near the town of Grangemouth, where the rivers Carron and Avon meet.
According to Northumbrian sources, so many Picts died they could walk dry-shod across both rivers.
By 681 AD Ecgfrith had founded a bishopric at Abercorn on the southern shore of the Forth - a symbol of Northumbria's secure grip over the Picts.
The defeated Picts took Bridei, son of Bili, as the king of a much depleted Pictland. King Bridei was actually the cousin of his mortal enemy, King Ecgfrith of the Angles, but, in true Dark Age fashion, this didn't diminish their mutual desire to destroy each other. An almighty battle was on the cards.
The Chronicle of Holyrood gives us the best account of the battle: "In the year 685 King Ecgfrith rashly led an army to waste the province of the Picts, although many of his friends opposed it...and through the enemy's feigning flight he was led into the defiles of inaccessible mountains, and annihilated, with great part of his forces he had brought with him."
The Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people, came to Britain from continental Europe and established several kingdoms which later unified to form England. But they failed to get a foothold in the north of the island - that's why Scotland exists.
The Angles were advancing up Strathmore, probably aiming for the Pictish fortress of Dunnottar, when they fell into Bridei's trap. Sighting a Pictish warband, the Angles set off in pursuit, then, as they came over the cleft in Dunnichen Hill, they found themselves confronted by the main body of the Pictish army. Caught between the Picts and the loch below the hill, the Angles bravely faced their doom.
The politcal map was altered. The Picts, Gaels and many Britons were freed from Northumbrian overlordship. Gaelic poets as far away as Ireland celebrated the battle's outcome. The Pictish frontier returned to the River Forth near Edinburgh and the Bishop of Abercorn fled, never to return. The Angles never fully recovered as major force in Scotland.
It is no coincidence that the Picts mysterious disappearance occurs at the same time as the creation of the kingdom of Alba. For many years Gaelic influence in Pictland had been on the rise. The Gaelic religion of Christianity had spread throughout Pictish lands and with it many Gaelic traditions. Furthermore, through a mixture of conquest and inter-marriage Gaelic or Gaelicised royalty had succeeded to the Pictish throne (a notable example of this being Kenneth MacAlpin).
Finally in 878 AD the Pictish king, Áed, was murdered and replaced by a Gael - Giric.
Giric accelerated the Gaelic takeover of Pictish politics during his reign making the Gaelic language and traditions commonplace. Even after Giric was finally deposed in 889 AD future Pictish kings such as Donald and Constantine embraced Gaelic culture.
By 900 AD Pictland ceased to exist. The reign of Donald is listed in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba as a king of Alba. Pictland and Dál Riata had gone and in their place Alba - a Gaelic word for Scotland - was created. In this simple listing in an obscure book Scotland has its origins.
bbc.co.uk
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