Sculptor’s Cave

The Sculptor’s Cave is a sandstone cave on the south shore of the Moray Firth in Scotland. It lies near the small settlement of Covesea, between Burghead and Lossiemouth. The cave is named for the Pictish carvings cut into its walls near the entrances. These carvings date from the 6th or 7th century and include fish, crescent and V-rod, pentacle, triple oval, step, rectangle, disc and rectangle, flower, and mirror patterns. Some of the designs are simple while others show greater skill. The cave is 20 metres deep and 13.5 metres wide, with a roof 5.5 metres high. Two parallel passages, each 11 metres long and 2 to 3 metres wide, lead inside. It stands at the base of 30-metre cliffs and is mostly cut off at high tide. Excavations between 1928 and 1930 by Sylvia Benton revealed two main periods of use. The cave shows signs of activity from the late Bronze Age and the late Roman Iron Age, between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. Visitors find the carved walls and the cave’s rugged setting striking. The cliffs above and the shoreline below add to the atmosphere. The carvings remain the most striking feature of the site.