West Highland Sculpture, Scotland – defining a Gaelic Lordship

The graveyards of the West Highland of Scotland contain many commemorative crosses and grave-slabs dating from the 14th to mid 16th century. They are carved in distinctive style from a variety of rock types. Their distribution largely coincides with the Lordship of the Isles, a powerful Gaelic Princedom, often in conflict with the kings of Scotland. It defines the culture and influence of the Lordship. A study of rock types and quarry sources, including innovative non-destructive measurements of magnetic suspectibility, is leading to a reassessment of where the sculpture was carved and what that tells us about the extent of the power and patronage in the Lordship