MHG26726 - Bog Butter - Bunloit
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- FINDSPOT (Undated)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
Held in the collections of the Royal Museum of Scotland (under accession number RMS SHC 7) there is a mass of bog butter with fragments of the timber vessel that contained it. The circumstances of the discovery are not recorded but the accession dates from 1904. Bunloit farm is at grid reference NH 504 252, above the NW shore of Loch Ness and 4.2km SW of Urquhart Castle (NH52NW 3).
As currently held in store, the remains appear to be those of a lump of bog butter (measuring about 0.46m in length by 0.29m in diameter) around which the remains of a timber container are retained by wire binding (which is presumably of recent date). The timber (which was possibly alder) has split so severely that it presents the superficial impression of a stave-built container, but is shown by detailed examination to be of monoxylous (presumably carved) form. Both base and lid are missing and the ends of the sides have rotted so as to obliterate any trace of a binding-groove or similar feature. The top of the bog butter mass is domed and the capacity of the vessel appears to have been about 141 litres.
PSAS 1905; RMS Accession Register: typescript continuation catalogue; R J C Mowat 1996, visited November 1994.
(Location cited as NH 50 25). The discovery (in a peat moss) is recorded of a cylindrical mass of adipocere wrapped in bark (NMS ME 360). A 'Somewhat similar find' had been made 'in the same district some time ago... within living memory', but this was destroyed.
PSAS 1905; NMRS, MS/996/1.
Sources/Archives (3)
- --- SHG2548 Text/Publication/Volume: Mowat, R J C. 1996. The logboats of Scotland, with notes on related artefact types. 83-4, 112, 145, no. A11; tabs. 1 and 11.
- --- SHG28278 Dataset/Database File: National Museums Scotland. 2019. Highland Finds from the NMS Catalogue. National Museums Scotland. Digital. SHC 7.
- --- SHG617 Text/Publication/Article: PSAS. 1894. 'Donations to and purchases for the Museum and Library, with exhibits', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 28 1893-4, p.5-9, 58-62, 119-25, 178-85, 213-18, 234-43. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 5-9, 58-62, 119-25, 178-8. 59.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 4999 2499 (4m by 4m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH42SE |
| Civil Parish | URQUHART AND GLENMORISTON |
| Geographical Area | INVERNESS |
Finds (1)
- BOG BUTTER (Undated)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (1)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/116736 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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