Technology
Mysterious message carved by ancient ‘lost people of Scotland’ found – can YOU decipher it?
EXPERTS have uncovered a rare stone in Scotland with baffling symbols carved into it.
Indigenous people who lived there around 1,500 years ago are thought to have left the markings.
University of AberdeenScientists couldn’t believe what they found[/caption]
Three oval shapes, a comb and mirror, a crescent, and double discs can be made out on the 1.7 meter-long discovery.
But archaeologists have been left scratching their heads as to what the symbols actually mean.
Professor Gordon Noble, excavation leader from the University of Aberdeen told Live Science that the “best guess is that they are a naming system representing Pictish names”.
The Picts were a group of people who roamed what is now northern and eastern parts of Scotland in the ancient and medieval times.
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Experts were brought to tears after finding the stone in Aberlemno, as only 200 have been unearthed so far.
And it was stumbled upon unexpectedly, as the team were only studying a farmer’s field at the time.
“We thought we’d just uncover a little bit more before we headed off for the day,” researcher Dr James O’Driscoll said.
“We suddenly saw a symbol. There was lots of screaming.
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“Then we found more symbols and there was more screaming and a little bit of crying.”
What’s particularly strange is that the symbols seem to overlap one and other, suggesting they were carved at different times.
“There are only around 200 of these monuments known,” Professor Noble added.
“They are occasionally dug up by farmers ploughing fields or during the course of road building but by the time we get to analyse them, much of what surrounds them has already been disturbed.
“To come across something like this while digging one small test pit is absolutely remarkable and none of us could quite believe our luck.”
University of AberdeenFarmer’s field in Aberlemno[/caption]
Who were the Picts?
Here’s what you need to know about the Pictish people…
The Pictish people were a collection of tribes that lived in modern day eastern and northern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and early Medeival periods from around 270-900AD
They were known for being ‘barbaric’ and fighting fierce battles completely naked but they may have worn paint as the Roman name for the Picts is Picti, which means ‘painted people’
The different Pict groups eventually formed an alliance against common enemies like the Romans and the Britons
The Picts and their ferocity were one of the reasons that even heavily armoured Romans could not conquer Scotland
They mysteriously disappeared from written history around 900AD and some experts believe this is because they merged with southern groups
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