Masterclass on early medieval sculpture in Scotland / Book launch
Please note, this event has been postponed and will no longer take place on 7th May as originally planned. We will publish the new date on this page when it is confirmed.
Current and future thinking on Scotland's early medieval carved stones, a talk illustrated with 3D models
Scotland’s early medieval carved stones comprise one of the nation’s most important cultural assemblages, offering unique insights into the people who created them: the Britons, Picts, Gaels of Dal Riata, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. At the heart of antiquarian study and concerns for their conservation since the nineteenth century, the ways in which these monuments are understood and valued has changed enormously in recent years. We have new ways of thinking about the value of our heritage more generally, new questions that we want to ask, new ways of seeking answers to these questions, and a continuing influx of new discoveries that invite us to think anew.
Contemporary approaches involve thinking about landscape, biography and materiality as well as more traditional disciplinary approaches. We think about their social value well as their evidential, historic and aesthetic qualities. There has also been a revolution in ways of recording carved stones, not least through digital technologies.
This masterclass will provide a rapid overview of Scotland’s early medieval carved stones, introducing key new approaches and findings. It will also showcase some of Historic Environment Scotland’s 3D models, both to illustrate the talk and to reflect on the value of digital technologies.
The wine reception following the talk will include the launch of My Life as a Replica: St John’s Cross, Iona, written by Sally Foster with her colleague Professor Siân Jones. Copies of the book, published by Windgather Press and sponsored by Historic Environment Scotland, will be available to buy at a 20% discount of £28 (cash or cheque only).
Dr Sally Foster is Senior Lecturer in Heritage and Conservation at the University of Stirling. She is author of many books and articles relating to Scotland’s carved stones, including the bestseller Picts, Gaels and Scots. She is Chair of the National Committee on Carved Stones in Scotland and was Principal Investigator for the Future Thinking on Carved Stones in Scotland project