148 Archaic Sculpturings. 



diverted at right angles. The tree or rod, however, settled 

 down into two stereotyped forms, one bent like a reversed Z, 

 the other like a V, both types being well fitted to live, from 

 the artistic point of view. 



The tree is an extremely archaic symbol, standing for 

 knowledge aspiring upwards from the human mind. 



The Fall of Knowledge happened when wisdom entered, 

 but this subject is touched upon later in discussing the bent 

 rod figure at Anwoth. 



The Corsewall House Monument. 



On the front of a cross-slab (Figs, ii and 12) once at 

 Kilmorie Chapel, Kirkcolm, now at Corsewall House, is a 

 crude portrayal of the Crucifixion within the area of the cross. 

 Below is a human figure, on the left of which are two birds 

 shown looking towards the figure, while on the right is a 

 carving of a pair of pincers or tongs, and above it what looks 

 like an anvil and a hammer, but that portion of the surface of 

 the stone is somewhat broken, and it is difficult to define 

 exactly the nature of the two last-mentioned objects. 



The birds here seem to represent spiritual assistance 

 offered to humanity, which is represented by the human 

 figure below the cross. With the exception of the eagle, 

 which conveys a special meaning, shown in many earlv 

 Scottish stones, the image of a bird is a sign of good omen. 

 Winged creatures, indeed, almost always stand for angelic 

 and spiritual things, whether in pagan or Christian times. 

 The bird symbol involved the conception of ethereality or 

 spirituality. The bird tnotif occurs in the decoration of 

 metallic objects in the British Islands during the early cen- 

 turies in this era. I have found in Wigtownshire the image 

 of a bird in bronze. It belongs to a time early in this era. 

 It occurs within the pentacle symbol engraved on a pebble 

 from the Broch of Burrian, Orkney. 



Birds are shown within the pedestal of a cross at Farr. 

 Birds with a similar symbolism are found on the Shandwick 

 stone and on stone (No. 10) at St. Vigeans. They are of 

 frequent occurrence in foliageous work, often with the three- 

 berried branch or with the three-lobed leaf, as at Closeburn. 



