According to historians East Lomond hill fort and nearby settlement made southernmost parts of the Pictish kingdom in what is now Scotland.
EMBARGOED TO 0001 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19
Undated handout photo issued by University of Aberdeen of Jodie Allan holding what is thought may be a rare carving of a Pict’s face she discovered while volunteering on a dig at East Lomond hill fort in Fife. The archaeology student initially thought it was a piece of slag while sieving soil excavated from an early medieval building there. However on closer inspection, it could be seen that the object was a carving with two eyes and a nose, leading experts to suggest it may depict a human face. The hill fort and surrounding settlement are located in what is thought to have been the southernmost part of the Pictish kingdom, which ruled a large part of what became Scotland. Issue date: Friday September 19, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: University of Aberdeen/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. (Image: University of Aberdeen/PA Wire)
An archaeology student volunteering at a Fife dig has uncovered what experts believe may be a rare carving of a Pictish face.
Jodie Allan, a third-year archaeology student at the University of Aberdeen, was sieving soil from an early medieval building at East Lomond hill fort when she spotted an object she initially thought was a piece of slag.
On closer inspection, the roughly 10–12cm item revealed what appeared to be a human face, with two eyes and a nose. Experts now suggest it may be a rare example of Pictish portraiture.
“I had no idea I was holding anything significant,” Ms Allan said. “But I took a closer look because of its size and because the colour – a sort of oxidised coppery green – caught my eye. I showed it to Professor Noble, who took one look at the stone and his reaction told me it was something special – with what appears to be a carved face on it.”
Archaeology student Jodie Allan discovered a 10–12cm object at East Lomond hill fort that experts suggest may be a rare Pictish carving of a human face.(Image: University of Aberdeen/PA Wire)
East Lomond hill fort and its surrounding settlement are thought to have been part of the southernmost area of the Pictish kingdom, which once controlled a large part of what became Scotland.
Professor Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen and Joe Fitzpatrick of the Falkland Stewardship Trust have co-led excavations at the site for the past four years.
“This is an early schematic carving with two eyes, a nose and what appears to be a hairline at the top,” Professor Noble said.
“We need to get this fully analysed but it appears to be a carving of a face, and resembles some of the human faces you see in early medieval manuscripts. It is incredibly rare to have a representation of a human face in this time period.
“We’ll have to look at all the parallels, but if it really is a human face it’s nice to think it could be a rudimentary portrait of a local Pict who lived at East Lomond.”
The archaeologists believe the building where the carving was found dates to the fifth to seventh century, part of the final phase of activity in the annex settlement.
Professor Noble added: “The discovery could offer new insights into how Picts understood themselves and represented their own identities through crafting and stone carving.
“The face suggests that Pictish people here were making more expedient carvings, perhaps something for family members living at the site rather than public display like the more famous Pictish symbol stones.”
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The team now plans to conduct radiocarbon dating of the floor layers and settlement deposits associated with the building. They will also explore other art historical parallels to understand the context and significance of the small carved stone object.
“There is an incredible depth of archaeology here with hearth built upon hearth and building upon building,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“Everything points to this being a wealthy settlement connected to the wider world and we are finding a good number of complete objects within the context of stone and turf buildings – which is unusual for the Pictish period.”
The excavation work at East Lomond hill fort is featured in the History Hit documentary Enemies Of Rome: In Search Of The Picts.