Rare medieval hair-styling tool found during Highland castle excavation

A rare 13th century tool for styling hair has been acquired by a museum after it was discovered in an excavation.

The gravoir is an ancient, rudimentary hairpin, and has been added to a new collection of artefacts acquired by National Museums Scotland (NMS) after being discovered at Eilean Donan castle in the Highlands, and marks the first ever found in Scotland.

The castle is popular with tourists and is recognised around the world, but NMS researchers say little was known about its medieval heyday until excavating began.

Inspired by medieval fashions in France, the gravoir would have been used to part hair precisely and create elaborate styles.

Carved from red deer antler and featuring a figure wearing a hood and holding a book, it is one of only three examples from the UK – as well as the first to be found in Scotland.

Gravoirs are generally made from ivory, however this one is an unusual example of a European-style object realised in local materials.

Objects including brooches and dress pins were excavated alongside animal bones and crucibles – small ceramic cups used to melt copper alloy, silver and gold.

These form part of what researchers from NMS say is one of the most important collections of medieval metalworking in the UK, revealing how everything from buckles to swords were manufactured on site.

Filling around 80 boxes at the National Museums collection centre in Granton, Edinburgh, the assemblage will now be a rich resource for researchers.

The collection includes game pieces made from decorated bone and recycled pottery and an iron jaw harp – a musical instrument placed in the mouth and plucked to make a distinctive sound.

Dr Alice Blackwell, senior curator of medieval archaeology and history at NMS, said: “This remarkable gravoir shows us how elite inhabitants of Eilean Donan were engaging with fashions on the continent.

“However the assemblage reveals a much broader picture of life in the 13th and 14th centuries.

“It allows us to imagine how the full social spectrum of people inside the castle walls spent their days, whether styling their hair, toiling in a smithy or making simple toys for children to play with.

“It’s a privileged glimpse into life in medieval Scotland that we don’t often get.”

Miranda van Lynden, head trustee at The Conchra Charitable Trust – which owns Eilean Donan Castle, said: “Eilean Donan represents the very essence of a Scottish castle and its image is recognised around the world.

“However we knew surprisingly little about life in the castle at the height of its power and influence in the 13th and 14th centuries.

“We commissioned these excavations to reveal some of these stories.

“We’re pleased that this assemblage can now be researched further, and we hope it will introduce the rich history of Eilean Donan to new audiences.”