The Mystery Behind Scotland’s Ancient Rock Balls

Old carved stone balls have been the subject of mystery and intrigue as to what they were actually used for. Found in Scotland, 500 Neolithic stone balls, some with intricate patterns, others with knobs and pyramids, leave people in endless debates trying to unravel the meaning behind these artifacts. The National Museum of Scotland has now renewed its efforts to settle the debates once and for all, as the Scotland Herald details:  

It involves a fingertip search through hundreds of documents cataloguing their discoveries, virtual reality technology, citizen science and a hunt for at least two missing balls - and perhaps many more.

Most of the intriguing stones were discovered in Aberdeenshire, however, in many cases precisely where they were found was either not fully recorded or the spheres mistaken as either not being as historically important as they are now known to be.

As a result, it’s thought that some may not even have been handed over to authorities as archaeological treasures – meaning there is every chance that they are still kept by unsuspecting owners, have been sold, forgotten about or, indeed, stuck on a window ledge.

Now Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark, Curator of Prehistory at the National Museum of Scotland, is at the forefront of a new strand of research which it is hoped will unlock the secrets of the intriguing Neolithic objects and possibly the whereabouts of at least two missing spheres.

Image via the Scotland Herald