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Lot Essay
Item one: The diagonal line across one of the knobs is thought to have been deliberately carved as several examples have been found with similar straight decorative lines.
Stone balls of the type in the above two lots are particularly common to Scotland, more specifically the area between the Moray Firth and the River Tay in Aberdeenshire. Composed of a number of different rock types they are all of similar size and the number of knobs ranges from 3 to over 100. Examples discovered during archaeological excavations have all been found on Neolithic sites, dating them to approximately 3500-2000 B.C. However, their exact use is unclear. It has been suggested that they performed a specific ceremonial or ritual role. Their similarity to mace-heads might suggest that they are some kind of ritual weapon.
For related stone balls cf. D. V. Clark, Symbols of Power at the Time of Stonehenge, National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1985, pp. 56-62 and p. 171; and A. Ritchie, An Introduction to the Prehistoric Houses, Tombs, Ceremonial Monuments and Fortifications in the care of the Secretary of State for Scotland, Edinburgh, 1988, pp. 5 and 14.
Stone balls of the type in the above two lots are particularly common to Scotland, more specifically the area between the Moray Firth and the River Tay in Aberdeenshire. Composed of a number of different rock types they are all of similar size and the number of knobs ranges from 3 to over 100. Examples discovered during archaeological excavations have all been found on Neolithic sites, dating them to approximately 3500-2000 B.C. However, their exact use is unclear. It has been suggested that they performed a specific ceremonial or ritual role. Their similarity to mace-heads might suggest that they are some kind of ritual weapon.
For related stone balls cf. D. V. Clark, Symbols of Power at the Time of Stonehenge, National Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh, 1985, pp. 56-62 and p. 171; and A. Ritchie, An Introduction to the Prehistoric Houses, Tombs, Ceremonial Monuments and Fortifications in the care of the Secretary of State for Scotland, Edinburgh, 1988, pp. 5 and 14.