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Okay, so I've been at this game too long, and I've gone all cynical...
Turns out these amateur looking 'medieval' doodles that I'd dismissed are from a valid context and they're all authentic bits of medieval artwork. Okay, so they're a bit pathetic, but it turns out that there are other similar examples of really bad artwork on slates from high medieval religious contexts in Scotland, including a warrior which bears a strange resemblance to the evil soldiers from that classic film, Dougal and the Blue Cat... So it looks as if the diggers at Kilwinning Abbey have found some seriously exciting stuff!
One of the slates has revealed some rather nice writing, too, and then there's the gaming boards...
We have a work experience laddie on secondment from a local school this week. He was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - until I got hold of him. We spent the day checking through the medieval and modern pottery boxes from Kilwinning Abbey, which was, um, interesting. The finds have already been checked, but not by the resident Finds person (aka me). I was rather bemused by what I found lurking in the modern pottery bags. There was a glass bracelet, various bits of glass bottle, some bits of slag, some sherds of medieval pottery and a rather nice copper alloy lace tag, probably from a funeral shroud. A substantial portion of the waifs and strays have now been removed and reclassified in their appropriate boxes.
My young assistant admitted to having an interest in ceramics (I nearly fell off my chair in amazement) and he set to his allotted tasks with gusto. But by the end of the afternoon, his eyes were glazing over and he was losing concentration after hours of sorting out little tiny sherds of blue-and-white transfer printed pottery and old brown teapots. Not even the odd sherd of medieval pottery or the scatter of beautiful hand-painted pearlware sherds could revitalise him.
Ah, well. Poor lad'll soon be wishing he stayed with me. The Boss is taking him out on a watching brief tomorrow. And the weather forecast is, um, well, iffy. If and when he makes it back to the office, he'll be like the proverbial drowned rat.
Oh, and after last night's adventure, how did I spend the evening? Did I loaf around with my feet up nursing my sore arm? No way!! I went horse-riding, and had a half-hour lesson with the inimitable Diva. It wasn't all plain sailing: getting changing into my riding gear in the first place, getting onto the horse for the lesson and getting off again all proved quite a challenge. And I had to make sure I did not fall off.
Just as well I didn't get Molly. She's been spotting imaginery Daleks again, and it turned out she'd ditched a rider twice this morning. Looks like I had a lucky escape!!
So now I am taking it easy!
Turns out these amateur looking 'medieval' doodles that I'd dismissed are from a valid context and they're all authentic bits of medieval artwork. Okay, so they're a bit pathetic, but it turns out that there are other similar examples of really bad artwork on slates from high medieval religious contexts in Scotland, including a warrior which bears a strange resemblance to the evil soldiers from that classic film, Dougal and the Blue Cat... So it looks as if the diggers at Kilwinning Abbey have found some seriously exciting stuff!
One of the slates has revealed some rather nice writing, too, and then there's the gaming boards...
We have a work experience laddie on secondment from a local school this week. He was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - until I got hold of him. We spent the day checking through the medieval and modern pottery boxes from Kilwinning Abbey, which was, um, interesting. The finds have already been checked, but not by the resident Finds person (aka me). I was rather bemused by what I found lurking in the modern pottery bags. There was a glass bracelet, various bits of glass bottle, some bits of slag, some sherds of medieval pottery and a rather nice copper alloy lace tag, probably from a funeral shroud. A substantial portion of the waifs and strays have now been removed and reclassified in their appropriate boxes.
My young assistant admitted to having an interest in ceramics (I nearly fell off my chair in amazement) and he set to his allotted tasks with gusto. But by the end of the afternoon, his eyes were glazing over and he was losing concentration after hours of sorting out little tiny sherds of blue-and-white transfer printed pottery and old brown teapots. Not even the odd sherd of medieval pottery or the scatter of beautiful hand-painted pearlware sherds could revitalise him.
Ah, well. Poor lad'll soon be wishing he stayed with me. The Boss is taking him out on a watching brief tomorrow. And the weather forecast is, um, well, iffy. If and when he makes it back to the office, he'll be like the proverbial drowned rat.
Oh, and after last night's adventure, how did I spend the evening? Did I loaf around with my feet up nursing my sore arm? No way!! I went horse-riding, and had a half-hour lesson with the inimitable Diva. It wasn't all plain sailing: getting changing into my riding gear in the first place, getting onto the horse for the lesson and getting off again all proved quite a challenge. And I had to make sure I did not fall off.
Just as well I didn't get Molly. She's been spotting imaginery Daleks again, and it turned out she'd ditched a rider twice this morning. Looks like I had a lucky escape!!
So now I am taking it easy!
