7th century AD
From Burghead, Morayshire,
Grampian, Scotland

This figure of a bull has been carved onto the dressed surface of a water-worn sandstone boulder. It is one of the finest of six survivors of about 30 bulls discovered in the 19th century at the promontory fort of Burghead on the Moray coast. They were probably brightly painted and set in the walls of the fort, making an impressive sight. Like the others, this animal walks to the right with its head lowered in a natural way. The bull's ornamented hip joints are in the distinctive medieval Celtic style seen on other Pictish carved stones and in the earliest decorated books such as the Book of Durrow.
Single stones carved with natural subjects are unique to the Pictish peoples of north Britain, but their meaning remains unclear. The unique Burghead group of bulls suggests propaganda for the local ruling family and the community. Two other single bulls have been found near modern Inverness.