Historic casts of Scotland’s earliest boat carving returned to Wemyss Caves

The plaster casts taken from one of the caves were displayed at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

By Claire Warrender

April 29 2024, 12:14pm

One of the casts taken from the carving in 1934. Image: Supplied by SWACS.

Historic casts of an ancient boat carving have returned to Fife for the first time in almost a century.

Experts believe the carving at the ancient Wemyss Caves was made in the first millennium AD and could be the earliest depiction of a boat in Scotland.

Two casts were taken at Jonathan’s Cave, in East Wemyss, in 1934 in a bid to make it known to a wider UK audience.

The ancient boat carving at the Wemyss Caves. Image: Supplied by SWACS.

And they were sent directly to London on the Royal Scot train, arriving – still damp – at Euston.

One was displayed at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, with the other stored at the Society of Antiquaries of London.

However, they were both eventually moved to the National Maritime Museum before being transferred back to Wemyss.

One of the casts will be displayed in a newly-refurbished museum and visitor centre, run by the Save the Wemyss Ancient Caves Society (SWACS).

Casts of Wemyss caves carving are historic artefacts

They were driven to Fife by Tom Dawson of St Andrews University’s School of History.

And SWACS curator Paul Cranston says they are historic artefacts in their own right.

“The casts will enable visitors presently unable to access the cave site to appreciate the boat carving up close at full scale,” he said.

“We are thrilled they came full circle back after a 90-year journey.

“We know from experience, having had on loan a cast of a Bronze Age cup and ring carving from the Michael Cave prior to infilling in 1926, that people love having access to historic copies of such unique carvings.”