Summary

Large oval wooden dish filled with bog-butter, found in moss at Cunnister, North Yell, Shetland

Accession Number

X.SHC 6

Other references

Original description

Large oval dish of wood, filled with [bog-] butter; found in moss at Cunnister, North Yell, Shetland. Trevor Cowie notes, 12 April 2012: see RCAHMS HU59NW 14. Details mainly after Mowat 1996: in 1887 an 'oblong wooden vessel' was found at a depth of 3' (0.9m) in a peat moss at Cunnister or Gunnister which is situated on the E side of Basta Voe in the NE part of Yell.The vessel was described as being 'somewhat like a large nut in appearance' and 'covered by a thin covering of fibre, evidently the inner bark of some tree'. It measured 1'8" (0.5m) in length over all by 1' (0.3m) transversely, and 7" (178mm) in thickness. The internal cavity contained a 'mass' of bog butter. This object (fomerly numbered SH 8) was located and identified by Jim Wilson & Trevor Cowie on 28 February 2013. Adding to the confusion caused by earlier museum re-numberings, in his published catalogue Mowat records an (unlabelled) object which, he suggested, may be identified as this vessel: however the object described by Mowat is in fact the trough from Loch Eport, N Uist (see NMS: W.SFA 44), now also re-located. References: Earwood, C Domestic wooden artefacts in Britain and Ireland from Neolithic to Viking times, Exeter 1993, 276; Macadam, W I 'Notes on the analysis of additional samples of bog butter found in different parts of Scotland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 23 (), 433; Mowat, R J C The logboats of Scotland, with notes on related artefact types, Oxford 1996, 84, 122, 145, no. A13 tabs. 1 and 11; NMAS Catalogue of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, Edinburgh 1892, 330 see also pl. p. 328. Also note possibility of confusion given that old number SH 8 was renumbered as SHC 6

Associated person/people (e.g. excavator/former collection)

None

Discovery / field collection

Date of discovery

Not recorded

Method (e.g. excavation)

Not recorded

Place (i.e. location of discovery)

Grid reference

Not recorded

Acquisition

Acquisition date

1888

Acquisition source (i.e. name of donor)

Unknown

Acquisition source role (e.g. donor)

Not recorded

Image

None