In Scotland, archaeologists, while examining a plot of land in the city of Perth, set aside for the construction of a road, discovered a rare Pictish monolith, which depicts a very unusual warrior.
The author's article was published in the journal Antiquity, and is briefly quoted by the journal Live Science. It is reported that the Tulloch-type stone was noticed by builders back in 2017. Then archaeologists with all precautions removed it from the ground and examined it in laboratory conditions.
The artifact lay at a depth of about one meter. It turned out to be just the third such Pictish stone found in the region. Its height is 1.9 meters and its width is 70 centimeters. It depicts a warrior with a "complex hairstyle" and a "pronounced backside".
This figure attracted the attention of researchers. In their article, they write that this warrior is holding a spear with a "serpentine blade and a doorknob-style end of a shaft."
The controversy among scientists was caused by the question of whether the figure is depicted nude? Scientists were able to see the poorly preserved, but available in the drawing of the lines: two of them are drawn on the ankles, and one on the torso, and it goes from the chest to the belt.
Scientists speculate that the lines on the ankles may indicate that the warrior was wearing shoes or tight-fitting pants, reminiscent of modern leggings. However, together with the line on the chest, it all resembles a modern jumpsuit.
Archaeologists note that the surface of the stone was damaged, and part of the image was erased over time. The original appearance of the picture was restored using 3D visualization and photogrammetry - a method in which photographs taken at different angles are "stitched" into one picture.
It was also established that the monolith was part of the burial. By the type of engraving, scientists determined that the image was applied to the stone by the Picts - the ancient inhabitants of Scotland who spoke the Celtic language. This name was given to them by the Romans, it meant "painted people". It is believed that the Picts wore war paint.
The Picts actively fought with the Romans and waged wars with them for a long time. Nowadays, the name of this people is associated with resistance. Perhaps the found drawing reflects the spirit and ideology of the Picts.