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In Touch with their Gods

How did people deal with death in early Scotland? What did they believe?

Throughout history, people have believed in powers greater than themselves. This area of the gallery examines the changing burial rites and religious beliefs of early people.

Dead and sometimes buried

The earliest formal burials we know of are those of the early farmers, who often buried their dead in communal tombs. From around 2500 BC individual burials became common. Then, around 1700 BC, cremation was favoured. The Romans brought their own traditions, including the use of elaborate grave monuments for high-ranking officials.

With Christianity came burials without grave goods in graves aligned east-west, to ensure that on Judgment Day the dead could rise to face their maker. Viking settlers in the ninth century AD brought another set of pagan practices, with people buried fully clothed with their possessions, some even buried in their boats.

Glimpses of the sacred

We have only a fragmented notion of early beliefs and religious practices, but the material assembled in this section of the gallery illustrates how strong a part was played in everyday life by belief in the supernatural. 

The central area of the display presents Pictish engravings on stones and small objects. These symbols have attracted attention and speculation for centuries but no one knows exactly what their meaning is. Even without that understanding, we can recognize their power and the existence of a complex belief system.

With the introduction of written information we begin to have a better understanding of religious beliefs and practices. Once we reach the time of Roman religion and early Christianity, we have a more complete picture of what people believed.

Things to see

This is one of the most atmospheric, occasionally eerie yet peaceful areas of the National Museum of Scotland. Highlights include the fascinating Hilton of Cadboll stone, which dates from AD800 and depicts a female artistocrat riding out with a hunting party, and the grisly Cramond lionness, a stone memorial which depicts a lionness devouring a beareded, naked man. You can also see the oldest human figure from Scotland, an oak image of a female that was probably a fertility idol.

An intact Viking boat burial from Kiloran Bay, Colonsay, in Argyll and Bute, dating from 875-925 AD provides a fascinating glimpse into Viking life and death through a diverse array of grave goods.