#carvedstoneballs

It's #MugshotMonday and today's mug was one of my most exciting finds through Instagram stories - this incredible carved stone balls inspired cup from @nth_pottery . Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I'm a sucker for small business, especially those who show the stories behind both the creators and the creations. You probably also know that my favourite artefact type are the Scottish carved stone balls. So imagine my delight when, while flicking through Instagram stories one day, someone had shared a behind the scenes reel from a potter making cups with a pattern created from carved stone balls! I couldn't resist... . For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I'll make sure to share a handy reel that I made on the topic. But to give a very quick overview: they are around 400 carved stone balls that are all about the same size but have varying different designs and styles. They are the ultimate mystery object, and so the theories of what they might have been used for are also widely varied in terms of actual possibility. Were they indeed used as a pattern creator when making pottery? Weapons? Boules? Ball bearings? Artistic portfolios (my personal favourite)? Purely pieces of art? Sensory objects? Each of these theories has their plus points but also all have strong arguments against them. . My favourite thing about these objects is that we'll never really know. The same can be said of nearly all archaeological objects, but too often people assume that there is only one theory that's actually correct and refuse to consider that there might be alternatives. Of course, any theory should always be based on supportable evidence, so can't just be wild surmise. But theories should always be questioned to make sure that they stay relevant and valid in light of new discoveries. . #carvedstoneballs #petrospheres #Scotland #Scottish #teaday #cuppatea #handmade #handmademug #archaeology #archaeologist #archaeologylife #prehistoric https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf3dhOnrl_0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

S is for Stone balls . Scottish carved stone balls, to be specific. I've featured these before because they are my all time favourite artefact type. My dream is to work on them some day - I even sent in a PhD application with them as my case study, but that was one of the many rejections. There are several points of interest about these amazing prehistoric objects: . 1. There are only about 400 of them that have been identified, dating mainly to the Neolithic . 2. Although a few have been found in England and Ireland, the majority were only found in Scotland . 3. There is a huge variety of carving styles, so very few of the balls are completely identical . 4. There is no pattern in terms of the archaeological context (ie. Some were found in graves, some were found in fields, some were found in houses etc etc) . 5. (And my favourite part) Nobody has any idea what they were used for. . Everyone loves a good mystery object, but these are just fascinating because of all the other points. Were they weapons? Were they game pieces? Were they used in engineering works? Were they the final stage of a carver's apprenticeship? Were they just beautiful piecea of art? Who knows! . Here you can see the Towie ball, which is the most famous of all the balls because of its intricate carvings. The first picture shows an amazing cast of a replica piece carved by @skotbiscuit (who as well as being an amazing carver is also involved in the Petrosphere project, which is currently investigating the craftsmanship of these balls), and you can see the original in the second picture. . P.S. I checked with my guinea pigs, but they also have no idea what it could be 🐹 . #petrosphere #carvedstoneballs #stone #carved #carving #stonecarving #prehistoric #prehistory #archaeology #archaeologist #enigma #mystery https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Z-LQrHKFT/?igshid=xq79mwlrbym0