The "Perthshire Picts"

I thought I would highlight a fascinating illustrated talk about the Picts being given this Tuesday. In the 1980s a Pictish man was discovered in Blair Atholl, now he is in a box in Perth Mueseum, I hope to learn all about him and lots more on the world of the Picts in Scotland.

The talk entitled "Perthshire Picts"  by Mark Hall, the History Officer at Perth Museum and Art Gallery this Tuesday 22 March at 7.30 pm in the Atholl Arms, in Blair Atholl.  Admission is £4 at the door (goes to supporting the local Museum), arranged by the Atholl Country Life Museum.

 So who were the Picts?

The Picts once were the inhabitants of Scotland, first being mentioned by the Romans in 297AD, their name comes from the Roman word 'picti' (painted people). They successfully lived in Scotland, resisting the Romans, Vikings, Danes and Angles to the south unil the mid 800AD, when they disappeared when they intermarried with the Scots who had come over from Ireland in the 600s AD.

 There is evidence of the Picts is all over Highland Perthshire in the form of defended homesteads and Pictish Forts. There is a rich local Pictish heritage including local treasures, such as the Pictish Stone in Struan Church, the Aldclune Silver Brooch (discovered at the 'Kings Palace' in the 1980s and on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh), the highly ornate Dunfallandy Stone by Pitlochry and also the important remains of the Pictish Man discovered in Blair Atholl in 1980s.

 Evidence of the Picts can be seen all over Highland Perthshire and deserve better efforts to highlight the part they played in Scotland's History. Hope to see you at Tuesday's talk, full details in the 2nd paragraph above.