Nigg

In 1796 a surgeon named Jonathan Troup donated a portion of a massive silver chain to the King’s College Museum in Aberdeen. It was said to have been found “at Nigg”.

The chain, which may actually have been a mixture of silver and bronze, consisted of eleven interlinked rings, alternating as pairs and single links. When it was found it was very corroded and was broken apart in an attempt to discover what it was made from. It is thought to date to the 4th to 6th centuries.

Some time after 1914 the King’s College Museum collection was transferred to the Marischal College Museum.

Historic Environment Scotland only give the vague coordinates NJ 9 0 for its original location and state that it was found in the parish of Nigg. During the exhibition Scotland’s Early Silver at the National Museum of Scotland in late 2017 / early 2018 the caption for this chain indicated it was from Nigg Bay. For now I have placed this Pictish chain near the geographical centre of the parish.

Incidentally there is a second parish of Nigg, and a second Nigg Bay, in Ross and Cromarty which is home to a Pictish cross slab.