Decoding Pictish symbols

This work is now peer-reviewed and published here.


Image from Aberdeenshire.gov.uk/leisure-sport-and-culture/archaeology/sites-to-visit/pictish-symbol-stones/


The Picts lived in Scotland in the 1st millennium AD, and probably before. It is generally thought that the Romans named them after the paint they wore, and they built Hadrian's Wall to protect their lands to the south from them.

The Picts are famous for their symbols, which they carved into megalithic pillars. To date, these symbols have remained a mystery, although several people have provided potential interpretations. One of the most well-known is due to Jackson who interpreted them as family crests - he describes his theory in detail in his 1984 book 'The Symbol Stones of Scotland'.

In my view, they are instead practically the same system of zodiacal and astronomical symbols we have found across Europe and the Near East, from Palaeolithic caves to Gobekli Tepe, Catalhoyuk, Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Of course, given the time difference the symbols used by the Picts are not expected to be exactly the same as those found in these earlier examples, but there are enough similarities to be very confident that this interpretation is correct. Naturally, the major clue is the presence of animal symbols - nearly the same set of symbols we see at Gobekli Tepe. I'll describe below the first steps in decoding these symbols - a detailed explanation will appear in my next book.

The Picts were dominant in Scotland in the middle of the 1st millennium AD, and most of the pure (Class 1) Pictish symbols likely date to this period. But some symbols might also date to the 1st millennium BC. Between around 600 to 800 AD, Pictish symbols appeared together with early Christian symbols as the new religion began to take hold (Class 2). From around 800 AD, Pictish symbol Stones mainly display Christian symbols (Class 3).

A good reference work is 'The Picts and their Symbols' by Cummins (1999), who provides a list of symbols ordered by their appearance frequency. Before, we go through the top few on this list, let's first work out which symbols we would expect to see based on our ancient zodiac.

Assuming a reference time of 500 AD, we should expect (see Prehistory Decoded and my YouTube channel) to find the following animal symbols; Gemini (ibex/gazelle = summer solstice), Sagittarius (eagle/vulture = winter solstice), Pisces (tall bird = spring equinox), Virgo (bear = autumn equinox). Essentially, because 500 AD is nearly half a Great Year (26,000 years) later than the Younger Dryas impact event, we can expect Pictish symbols to be the reverse of those on Pillar 43 at Gobekli Tepe, i.e. the summer/winter and spring/equinox symbols are reversed.

According to Cummins, the most numerous Pictish symbol is the 'Crescent and V-rod' (19.5%, see above). In astronomical terms, this is clearly representing something related to the moon. Precisely what remains unclear.

Next on the list is the 'Double disk and Z-rod' (12.9%, see above). In astronomical terms, this probably represents the summer and/or winter solstice. The symbols appears to be indicating the transition from a rising sun to a descending one.

Third is the 'Pictish elephant' (12.3%, see above). This is the most numerous animal symbol, and therefore likely represents the summer solstice constellation, which is Gemini. Now, according to our zodiac we expect this symbol to be an ibex or gazelle. The conventional view is that this Pictish symbol represents some kind of aquatic creature, perhaps a dolphin, although Cummins describes it as an elephant. But let's compare this Pictish symbol directly with the one from Pillar 43 at Gobekli Tepe - the ibex, representing Gemini;
Pictish beastie (left) and ibex symbol (representing Gemini) from Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe (right)

In my view, these symbols are incredibly similar, from the inclination of the head to the 'horns' along the back, although I agree that the Pictish symbol has an aquatic character. I suspect this means the Pictish beastie is a mythical 'Aquatic goat' creature. In our own zodiac, which we obtained from the Greeks via Mesopotamia, of course the 'Aquatic Goat' symbol represents Capricornus.

Now this is very interesting. It suggests that transition of the ibex from Gemini in the ancient zodiac to Capricornus in our modern one might have occurred in two steps. First, the 'aquatising' of the ibex/goat and then its switch from Gemini to Capricornus. For the Picts, only the first step appears to have taken place.

The next most numerous symbol is the 'Double disc' - which is practically the same as the 'Double disc and Z-rod'.

After that, we have the 'horseshoe', or arch, (4.5%, see above), which is clearly very similar to the handbag/sunset symbols at the top of Pillar 43 at Gobekli Tepe. So, from an astronomical perspective, it is clear this represents an equinox or solstice.

Next is the 'mirror case' or the 'disk and rectangle' (4.5%, see above). In our astronomical interpretation, this clearly is related somehow to the sun - perhaps representing an equinox.

After that is the fish (4.1%, see above). This is the second most common animal symbol, and therefore probably represents the Spring equinox constellation, i.e. Pisces. Of course, we also know Pisces as the fish, so it appears the transition from the tall bird (the symbol for Pisces in our ancient zodiac) to the fish has already occurred. Or, considering that fish also appear in Palaeolithic art, it might well be the case that the fish was another symbol for Pisces for a very long time.

Next is the rectangle (3.8%, see above). It is not clear what this represents.

After that is the eagle (3.4%, see above), which agrees perfectly with our ancient zodiac. It likely represents Sagittarius, the winter solstice constellation.

Next, we have the 'serpent and z-rod' (3.2%, see above). From Gobekli Tepe, circa 10,000 BC, we see this symbol represents specifically meteors. But for later cultures the serpent had many meanings, from death and chaos to god-like power and wisdom.

I'll stop there for now. 




Comments

  1. Hi, I'm from Perú, South hemisfere,s the symbols could have an opposite meaning or representación? Instead of summer but winter?

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  2. Yes, that's possible. All the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere. Do you know of any animal symbols used in your most ancient religions in Peru?

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  3. For instance, the Nazca civilization had the Spider' geoglyph which I think it could be compared with the Orion constellation. And I think so the same with the Monkey' geoplyph which it could be compared with the Great Bear constellation. There are many Nazca lines but these ancientes civilization always re-designed or re-builted in that certain moment the current lines or monument (like 'huacas') in the same place and over them. Why? Because I think they used these places for traking the movements of stars, and you know that stars move because the precession.
    There is something else I would like to share. In Inca´s time there was no property, so nobody had a house neither a llama, because everythings was owned by the Inca, so the people such as farmers had to work in a place where there was a monument to worshipped and after a certain time they had to move to another place to work and where they worshipped another god or the same (doesnt matter which one, probably the Sun, the Spider or any constellation) for a certain time. So when I did read about Gobekli Teple I thought the same social movement. I think people who worshipped a god or gods in that monument just spent a certain time to work or whatever and then move to another place.

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  4. Is there any evidence to show that the position of the stones are connected to constellations ( if that is the case) illustrated on them. If the stones can be dated could the night sky at the time be determined to try and verify connections. Conversely could celestial events be used to date the stones?

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    Replies
    1. Possibly. One potential interpretation of the 'tongs' symbol is the sighting of a comet.

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    2. Yes, for sure. Have a look Graham Hancock' book such as The mirrow of the sky, you can find not only monuments' positions connected with stars and constellation but also the dates.

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  5. Living in the NE a few miles from Burghead I had until recently only had a thin and superficial aquaintence with pictish art. Your work has made me look at this more keenly and my weekend walks now seek out ancient sites. If I ever find anything unusual I will let you know. Many thanks for sharing your intriguing detective work.

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    1. Many thanks - I look forward to hearing from you. Anything you can find might find its way into my next book - properly credited of course :)

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  6. Happy to hear there will be more work released on the Picts in your next book.
    Any info on when it will hit the shelves? ?
    P.s. one thing i appreciate abbot your work is you try to find out with a great deal of certainty what you can actually say.
    It's frustrating to me with so many researchers not even bothering to prove thier case.
    I've always wanted to really get into the worldview of my British ancestors, and try to replicate thier monuments, symbols, etc somehow on my land.
    Thanks

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    1. Thank you. Still gathering ideas for the next book, but I have a direction in mind. Don't image in will begin writing for at least 6 months, probably longer. So 2 years after that …

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  7. This content was excellent - I studied the Woad in university years ago. It was very difficult to find any information outside of roman texts. I still laugh to this day at the pictures we see of the Pictish peoples naked holding a human head or the many variants/copies of the three spears. It is my understanding that those are verbal descriptions from a Roman historian who we cannot verify had even seen a pict himself! The laugh comes in because i have seen people tattoo those pictures onto themselves when they should be looking to the art of Pictish or Woad peoples here!
    If you ever want to consider a more dedicated digital venue to display your work and or findings please reach out.

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  8. Hi Dr. Sweatman I would like to reach you for my documentary about Göbeklitepe. How can I communicate with you?

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    1. here is my mail damla@kimimila.com
      Hope to meet you :)

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  9. Hi Dr Sweatman

    Very interesting insights. You are probably aware of my book 'The Last of The Druids: The Mystery of the Picitsh Symbols Stones' from 2012 (although my research started in the 1990's) where I proposed that the Pictish symbols were astrological in nature and related to other ancient astrological systems. So I'm not surprised by your findings in relation to Gobleki Tepe. My own work met with considerable resistance from certain academic groups (failure to mention my book at all or dismissal and a dogged clinging to the dogma that these symbols relate to language or names with very little evidence if any) but I think this resistance is showing signs of crumbling. I am a scientist and I find it incredible that presenting findings that are evidence based can be ignored but interpretations of the symbols based merely on opinion with no evidence presented seems to be the norm - as is the case with academics in Celtic and related departments.

    One of my key findings (based on a number of strands of evidence) was the identification of the beast as Capricorn interestingly enough.

    My methodology consisted of:

    1. a detailed analysis of the 'hunting scene' on the Shandwick Stone - this I believe is a pictorial calendar realting to helical rising of stars within Pictish constellations north of the ecliptic in the Pictish era. This allowed me to identify many of the animal symbols with reasonable confidence using planetarium software.

    2. From these findings I was able to apply the same logic to other stones and therefore identify other symbols using the same technique, including the beast, the double disc, the crescent etc

    3. I compared these symbols and identifications to Vedic astrology and found some correspondence and identified other Pictish symbols tentatively that had some features in common with the Vedic system.

    4. I surveyed Celtic Mythology (and also other Indo-European traditions) to find astronomical references - and again found correspondences to some of the symbols.

    In adddtion to the main symbols I have looked at possible systems and this is discussed in the book. There does seem to be some acceptance of my ideas on the mirror and comb symbols and also interest in my intrepretation of the v-rods and z-rods. Its taking time but

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    1. Hi Iain, excellent book, I am half-way through. I have lots of comments for you, not least about the accuracy of the astronomical software you are using. Do you have an e-mail?

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    2. Mr Forbes,

      What you wrote is very similar to Egyptology - a lot of evidence is ignored (including inscriptions) and a lot of stories made up, that are directly contradicted by inscriptions and documents.
      And then they wonder why nothing matches....

      I will give an example. Tutanknamen's lineage.
      KV55 male is proved by genetic tests to be his father. According to several forensic teams, the KV55 mummy was of a male around 20, definitely not above 25.

      Many concluded it was Akhenaten, ignoring all data about him - he was around 30 when he became king (he celebrated a sed festival in his regnal year 2 or 3, he already had 3 daughters in his regnal year 1, attested by tablets), he ruled for at least 17 years (documented). So, he was around 45 when he died.

      Furthermore, the Elder Lady mummy is KV55 male's mother, and daughter of Thuya and Yuya, through genetic tests. The Elder Lady mummy was examined by forensic teams, who concluded she was around 25-35 at the time of her death. Her natural hair colour is preserved - a redhead. No sign of old age in the hair structure (grey hairs).
      They identified her as Queen Tya, wife of Amenhotep III, ignoring basic known facts:
      -Queen Tya married Amenhotep III in his regnal year 2 (well documented).
      -Amenhotep III ruled for 38 years (documented).
      -she is documented in Nefertiti's and Akhenaten's regnal year 12.
      -she was not a new born when she married. She was at least 12, although I doubt they married so young - at that point, their medical knowledge was relatively advanced, and such a young age might endanger the young bride in case of pregnancy.

      Still, let's add all this up and we reach the conclusion Queen Tya must have been at least 60 at the time of her death. (36+12+12).

      It is documented she is Yuya and Thuya's daughter (and her mother was of royal descent, so a royal). Queen Tya had the title "princess" (iry-pat) -that was strictly conferred to royals in 18th Dynasty.

      So, it cannot be Queen Tya. It is her sister, KV55 male is her son, Tutankhamen is her grandson and son of KV55. Still royals. But not the line they assume.

      But they insist Akhenaten was the only male in the royal house, ignoring all evidence, including the attested tombs of 2 princes in Amarna...


      Diana Aten

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    3. They also ignore the Amarna letters, where it is clearly stated that Queen Tya had SONS in Akhenaten's regnal year 1, when the King of Mitanni sends a letter to her, to reassure himself the diplomatic and trade ties will be continued.
      A well documented statement of Akhenaten having at least a younger brother and that, at the time (his regnal year 1) he was the ELDEST son....

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    4. Not to mention the invention of Kya as Akhenaten's wife, when inscriptions (unaltered) state "KIng's DAUGHTER of his own body" a formula strictly used for a King's biological children.
      Daughter is a duck sign + the bread sign
      Wife is a bowl sign.
      The name Kya was changed into what they claim was Meritaten. It was Aten Maat, Aten's order, and, in some inscriptions, Aten's Eshat - Aten's Garden, which is the "garden of Eden" reference in a much later cult.

      Besides, it was illegal to marry two wives at a time, Egyptians were monogamous by law and all their gods had one wife (cults differed from area to area, but there is never another wife for that specific cult).
      Divorce was legal, both wife or husband could file for it, and there was also death and remarriage after that. The punishment for marital infidelity was harsh even for men.
      So, all data and known laws ignored....

      DIana Aten.

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    5. Apologies to Prof Sweatman for the long posts that are unrelated to the topic, but I made a statement that must be proved by primary evidence and solid scientific data.

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  10. Hi Iain, thanks for contacting me. I recently discovered your book, but have yet to obtain it. Given what you say, I'll need to rectify that ASAP. Yep, the beast is like Capricornus, the aquatic goat, but I suspect it actually represents Gemini, as at Gobekli Tepe and a few other places. The bull typically represents Capricornus in the ancient zodiac. Of course, conventions change, and I don't have very strong evidence for continuity of the ancient zodiac to the Indo-European culture, to which the Picts likely belong. I'm sure one of us is correct. :) Best wishes.

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  11. Hey Martin. I read the paper. More than impressed with all the information consolidated there!
    Honestly puts years of small bits of info into context for me, and was a relief to read in one go.

    I have and idea about the gundestrup Cauldron to share. The seated figure Could be Cernenos or the sky father (perhaps a comet god) whose headdress is similar to old Odin figurines with opposing birds on his head - perhaps his ravens, i don't know.. but heres another idea, perhaps he is that and:
    It represents the constellation Ophiuchus - The Serpant-Bearer, which is joined with Serpens cauda (maybe the Torc) and Serpens caput (maybe the snake in the other hand)...

    Ophiuchus is flanked by Sagittarius on the left and Scorpius on the right.
    This could give meanings to the Stag and hunting dog (not splayed on front panel)
    You say, "After 0BCE the winter solstice constellation is Saggitarius." But go on to say it is not pictured. Perhaps it actually is! !

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    1. I stumbled upon your fascinating series of considerations while researching Australian Aboriginal symbols and ritual drawings. Many of their symbols link considerably further back in time but may resonate with the necessities of communication about landscape and community. For example discs designate a community/campfire/meeting place and are often linked by 'trip length indicators' or rivers symbols. They can also be separated by spears which take the image of a long arrow to show broken connections. Stars are represented as a central circle surrounded by smaller circles. A large meeting place for people is depicted in the Kimberly region as a series of concentric circles radiating outward 'rays' or lines, Simpler motifs are ovals for carrying baskets, circles for the sun and circles crossed through as mid year/sky/season. Short journeys are small concentric circles draw at either end of a line marked with tracks. There are, as you can appreciate, many more symbols which have been in continual use by the aboriginal peoples. I only write this you as it strikes me that Pict symbols seem to have suffered from ninetieth century classification/naming bias, for example ' mirror and comb' when compared to indigenous Australia seems more likely to represent something in the natural order or community connections. While some of the Pict 's more geometric symbols echo forward into viking/Celtic broaches and designs. I think you are quiet correct with your constellation suggestion but perhaps like Australia, the Classical period constellations do not marry up evenly with Aboriginal constellation. The myths are driven here by rain and the significance and timings of notable stars and constellations must have seemed quiet erroneous to colonial Australians. I really look forward to your ongoing research.

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  12. The 'Crescent and V-rod' is clearly a depiction of a Younger Dryas Impact. The incoming comet with ejecta at a complimentary angle and a swirling mushroom cloud! It does not get any better than that. The zed rods probably Halley's Comet.

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  13. Dr. Sweatman, I'm posting here so you will be aware of my interest in your work. I sent you a picture at the email you provided someone earlier in this thread. I apologize if it was improper for me to contact you in this manner. I hope you receive my email and will be kind enough to respond. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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