Images

Roman soldiers, when they came to Scotland, brought their own gods and goddesses from their local areas. Exotic cults were easily adopted too, such as that developed to Jupiter Dolichenus (a mixture of Roman Jupiter and a Syrian sky god...

Pictish stones are a form of monumental steles and are mainly found in the eastern part of Scotland and around the Clyde-Forth line. This stone was found in Invereen, Moy, Inverness-shire, Scotland. The stone was carved with Pictish symbols...

In the Roman empire deities which were not part of normal Roman beliefs were often readily adopted and worshiped. On the frontiers, such as Scotland, soldiers worshiped local gods and goddesses. This is a head of an unknown local deity. From...

Ancient cast glass features a wide range of decoration, produced by fusing together different layers of colored glass. Mosaic patterns were created by cutting colored glass canes in cross-section, and marble glass was mould-blown into shape...

A krater is a form of Greek pottery. It is a large vessel used for mixing wine and water. Kraters were mainly used at a drinking party (symposium); they were placed at the center of the room. Volute kraters have 2 unique volute-shaped handles...

The Oinochoe (or oenochoe) is one of the key forms of painted terracotta Greek pottery; it is a form of wine jug. Centaurs were half man and half horse. This combination of brute strength and strong instinct meant that they could be volatile...

A black-figure amphora depicting Hercules and an Amazon. Attica, Greece, 6th century BCE. (National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK)

Oil, especially olive oil, was stored in specialized Greek pottery; lekythos (pleural, lekythoi). Many lekythoi were found inside tombs; they were used to anoint the dead bodies of single men. Mainly dull red and black paints were used by...

A hydria is a vessel used for carrying water and is one of the types of Greek pottery. It has 3 handles; 2 horizontal for carrying the vessel and one perpendicular for pouring the water. This vessel was painted by Polygnotus. The scene...

A kylix is a Greek wine drinking-cup which was primarily used at a drinking party (symposium). In this balanced design, the Triptolemos painter (an ancient Greek vase painter) creatively separated the crumpled figure of the defeated Persian...