[Illustration: Fig. 242.—Stone with Incised Figures of Crossed Triangles, from Broch of Burrian (6 inches in length).]
[Illustration: Fig. 243.—Metatarsal Bone of Ox (front and back views), with incised symbols, from Broch of Burrian (actual size).]
The collection of relics from this Broch contains a greater number of objects than has been found in any other, and it is also remarkable as presenting some varieties of objects which have not been found in any other. These are—(1) an oblong pebble of sandstone (Fig. 242), with an incised figure on each of its flatter sides resembling the talismanic device of the Middle Ages known as Solomon’s seal; (2) the metatarsal bone of a small ox, bearing on one side the peculiar symbol of the sculptured monuments resembling a crescent, crossed by a V-shaped rod or sceptre (as shown in Fig. 243); (3) a small iron bell; and (4) a slab of sandstone with a cross of Celtic form, a fish, and an Ogham inscription. [Illustration: Fig. 243.—Metatarsal Bone of Ox (front and back views), with incised symbols, from Broch of Burrian (actual size).] The bell and the monumental slab have been already described, and need not be further alluded to.[92] The stone with the geometric figure of Solomon’s seal lay within a cist-like construction half filled with red ashes, which was in a paved floor that overlay the original floor, and was separated from it by a layer of from 1 to 2 feet of ashes and rubbish. The cross-bearing slab was found at a point near the side of the Broch, where the wall was so low that though the slab lay not much above the floor of the tower it was also not far below the surface of the mound. It cannot therefore be said of any of these objects that they were certainly associated with the earlier occupation of the Broch, and as they differ in character from all the objects usually found in such structures, their exceptional occurrence here can have no bearing on the discussion of the general questions of the character and relations of the group of relics usually found in Brochs.
_Scotland in Early Christian Times; The Rhind Lectures_ for 1879, p. 175; and Second Series for 1880, p. 211.