Burghead Bull (National Museum of Scotland)

3D Model

‘This is a cast of a stone found at Burghead in Moray. It is one of a number of stones carved with bull symbols, found in and around the site of the Pictish fortress at Burghead. They date from between 500 and 800.

Like the other stones, the bull is naturalistically depicted, with scrolls defining the joints where the limbs meet the body.

The large fort at Burghead was a major Pictish settlement. A number of carvings have been found there, many depicting bulls. Various theories have been put forward to explain their significance, including religious, territorial emblems or clan totems.’ (NMS)