At Home With the Picts: A Crafted Legacy

DREAMING EPISODE AUDIO ONLY

How did the Picts view the night sky? What did they believe in? In this episode I interview Professor Gordon Noble and we talk about the special Pictish quartz pebbles that have been discovered as well as Groam House Museum Trustees Paul and Richard about early Christianity and the infamous Rosemarkie Man. I also interview night sky photographer Andre Hudson and Scottish folk belief expert Scott Richardson Read. Andre has a number of boooks out with his photography Scotland at Night and Scott's recent book Mill Dust and Dreaming Bread is out now. Be sure and check their work out!

LANDSCAPE LEATHER CRAFT TRADE EPISODE - AUDIO ONLY

For this episode I went through to Glasgow to speak to Heather Christie and Brian Tyrell, two of the academics and creatives behind the Carved in Stone Pictish Role Playing Book and Game, which was commissioned by the Scottish Society of Antiquaries in partnership with Glasgow University and comes our in November 2025. Through the multiple peer reviews and years of research they have taken the book through over the last few years, Brian and Heather had a great deal of insight into what everyday life was like for a Pict. What I wanted to talk to them most about was trade, a staple of any game and certainly an important part of Pictish Society. I also spoke again to Prof Gordon Noble, to talk about the Pictish trade economy revealed through archaeology. And I also had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Leather Craft expert, Hamish Lamley, who is also known for his knowledge about coracles, Pictish boats. If you have a chance to watch the video version of this episode on YouTube, you'll get to see a Roman cat toy among other things!

ROCKCARVING EPISODE - AUDIO ONLY

In this episode I was thrilled to be able to interview stone carver, David McGovern of Monikie Rock Art. David is an exceptionally talented artist who is known for using Pictish motifs, key patterns and designs in his work, sometimes for commissioned copy pieces and sometimes for entirely new unique pieces. David had lots of interesting insights into Pictish stone carvers and it was a joy to visit him. I also headed to Meffan Museum in Forfar to speak to two of their experts, Shaun Wilson and Susan Curran, about the Pictish stones in Angus and some of the stories behind them. Shaun was kind enough to let me record him telling two stories about two different Pictish stones, so if you check out the video version of this episode on YouTube, you will be able to experience those.

METALWORK EPISODE - AUDIO ONLY

In this episode I travel up to Portknockie to interview the amazing blacksmith, Matty Flett of Flett Forge and he gives us some wonderful insight into what Pictish metalworking would have been like. I also head to Perthshire to speak with goldsmith, Rona Dalgleish. Rona has recently been commissioned to recreate a Pictish ring, discovered by archaeologists very recently. We take a look at what she has been creating and puzzle over how the Picts created such finely detailed pieces. Once again, I highly recommend watching the video version of this episode, which is available on YouTube.

WEAVING EPISODE - AUDIO ONLY

In this episode I have a wonderful conversation with master weaver Linda Cruickshank about ancient spinning and carding techniques. And I have the pleasure of interviewing Edinburgh University Levehulme Research Fellow and tablet weaver, Dr Cynthia Thickpenny. Cynthia shares with us her insights into the connections between Pictish sculptured stones and textiles. She also made us a "how to" tablet weave video and so I recommend watching that on the video version of this podcast, available on YouTube. Special thanks to Musea Maaseik for letting us use the images of textiles in your collection.