The Old Parish Church of Kilchattan on the Isle of Luing, Argyll, bears an incredible collection of ancient graffiti on the stones of its walls. The graffiti features depictions of several ships and other symbols.
AOC Archaeology conducted a detailed survey of these inscribed stones on behalf of the Luing History Group, funded by The Hunter Archaeological and Historical Trust.
Ships and Symbols
Around the walls of Kilchattan Old Parish Church, there are several distinct carvings on the stone, which have been incised with a sharp-edged object. Some of the carvings depict ships with centrally-stepped masts and high prows and sterns. One ship has a possible wind vane, a feature generally associated with royal or high status craft. Two other ships have animal heads on their prows. Other symbols appear alongside the ships, including crosses and various enigmatic symbols. Based on the style of ships, the carvings are thought to have been created during the 13th century. The graffiti are being researched by Luing History Group.
The Southern Wall Graffiti
Most of the carvings are on the southern wall. They are found low to the ground. This has led in the past to speculation that the graffiti may have been made by children but it is far more likely that the carvers adopted a devotional kneeling posture. Click the hotspots to reveal the location of the graffiti or use the images below to explore the detail of each carving.
South Wall A: Stone carved with ships, including one with a possible wind vane, which has associations with royal or high status craft.
South Wall B: Carvings of ships and an elaborate cross.
South Wall C: Carvings of ships and a star or crisscross graffito on the left of the stone.
South Wall D: Ship carvings and deeply incised triangular symbol.South Wall A:
This stone is carved with ships, including one with a possible wind vane, which has associations with royal or high status craft.
South Wall B:
This stone has carvings of ships and several crosses, one of which is elaborate.
South Wall C:
This stone has possible outlines of ships and a star or crisscross graffito on the left of the stone.
South Wall D:
This stone has a ship carving and a deeply incised triangular symbol.
The Western Wall Graffiti
The west wall of the church contains carved stones, including a cross-marked stone which was probably a gravemarker from an earlier phase of the church, later incorporated into the wall when it was built some hundreds of years later. Kilchattan is named after Cattán, a 6th century Irish saint associated with Bute. Click the hotspots to reveal the location of the graffiti or use the images below to explore the detail of each carving.
West Wall A: Faint carvings of several boats.
West Wall B: Cross-marked stone.West Wall A:
This stone has very faint carvings of several boats.
West Wall B:
This stone, originally an early Christian gravemarker, is carved with a cross.
The North Wall Graffiti
The northern wall has interesting variations of the ship carvings. One stone has several miniature ships. Click the hotspots to reveal the location of the graffiti or use the images below to explore the detail of each carving.
Ship with animal-headed prow
Stone carved with smaller shipsNorth Wall A:
This stone has three ships, one with an animal-headed prow.
North Wall B:
This stone is carved with several smaller ships.
Inside the Church
Inside the church there is a single enigmatic stone carving. It is unclear what it is supposed to represent. Click the hotspots to reveal the location of the graffiti or use the images below to explore the detail of each carving.
Stone carved with enigmatic symbols.Internal Wall A:
This stone has been carved with enigmatic symbols.
Light and Colour
A combination of survey techniques was used to record the stones at Kilchattan Old Parish Church. Photogrammetry, a process that involves taking hundreds of overlapping photos, was used to create a 3D model of the overall structure of the church, as well as more detailed models of each individual carved stone.
Alongside this, Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) of individual carvings was undertaken. RTI is an imaging technique that creates hyper-realistic digital images that can be interactively controlled by the viewer. Like photogrammetry, it is created from a synthesis of multiple photos, however, in the case of RTI the photos are all taken from a fixed point with the light source moving rather than the camera.
Once the models or digital renders are created, specialist software is used to manipulate the images, changing colour and lighting effects to enhance certain aspects of the carvings. Often this can reveal details that are very difficult to see and photograph under the natural lighting conditions during fieldwork. It also allows the colour to be removed from the images to prevent any distractions from the carvings themselves.
The galleries below contain a selection of images created through these techniques using different colour and lighting settings.
