The Picts and Their Symbols

The Pictish symbols, to be seen clearly on all the standing stones, monuments and Pictish objects which have survived, are the most enigmatic. It is universally agreed that these must once have conveyed a perfectly clear meaning, but that meaning remains as obscure as the Egyptian hieroglyphs before the discovery of the Reside Stone. In his new book, Bill Commons tackles the task of interpreting them and using them to reconstruct Pictish history and society. Using the Irish Ogham stones, Hiberno-Saxon inscriptions, and a variety of archaeological and historical clues, Commons unravels the mystery of the symbol stones, which he claims to be monuments to named individuals. Thus he can explore Pictish genealogy and social structure and throw new light on Pictish culture and relations to Irish and Welsh culture. He weaves many fascinating strands of Pictish and Celtic history into his intriguing linguistic detective story.

W. A. Cummins is a former senior lecturer in geology at the University of Nottingham and was until recently a senior editor with Cartermill International, St. Andrews.