The Picts were an early medieval population thought to have lived across most of northern and eastern Scotland during roughly AD 300 to 900. Now, the history isn’t necessarily as mysterious and intriguing as the Mayans’. They didn’t run underground, and they don’t still live there.
The Picts are called the ‘lost’ people because their distinct language, writing system, and cultural identity vanished entirely by the 10th century.
Still, their history is interesting, and if you’re looking at Motorhome hire in Scotland, you can go from our Ariescape base in Edinburgh and travel north of the Firth of Forth; you’ll see remnants of history about Pictish kingdoms.
The Pict people story is interesting. If you haven’t heard of them before, read on for a history lesson.
Who Are The Picts and Where Did They Come From?
The Picts’ main territory was north of the Forth and Clyde, but some historians say political boundaries changed substantially over the years.
Historic Environment Scotland describes them as descendants of the native Iron Age population, so they weren’t exactly an ethnic group.
One name you might see frequently is the Picti, which first appeared in Roman panegyric in AD 297. It wasn’t the population’s name, but it was an external Roman label which may be where the Pict people’s name descended from. Research argues that the term subsequently became meaningful within northern Britain and was eventually adopted as a political identity by Pictish rulers.
Picti actually translates to painted people, which comes from the Latin word Pictus, meaning painted. Archaeologists have never proved that Picts routinely tattooed or painted themselves, so the name is a bit of a mystery.
The strongest evidence suggests the Picts were a migration from Scandinavia, Scythia, Thrace or elsewhere, and a massive 2023 ancient-DNA study found that Pictish-period individuals fitted within the existing British Iron Age genetic pool.
That genetic study produced two high-quality autosomal Pictish genomes, from Lundin Links in Fife and Balintore in Easter Ross, dated to the 5th to 7th centuries, and analysed them alongside more than 8,300 ancient and modern genomes.
The genomes also show that the Picts weren’tone genetically identical population. Mainland Pictish individuals showed differences from pre-Viking Picts in Orkney.
Where Did The Scottish Picts Go?
They didn’t disappear; they simply ceased to be the dominant political and ethnic label. Pictland became part of the growing kingdom of Alba, and the Gaelic language and elite culture drowned out the once strong Pict dialect and political power.
The most defining period was the 9th century. Viking attacks destabilised Pictland and the neighbouring Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. Perhaps the final straw occurred in 839, with the Annals of Ulster recording the defeat of the men of Fortriu by Vikings and the deaths of the Pictish king Uuen/Wen son of Onuist, his brother Bran, and Áed son of Boanta of Dál Riata.
The following roughly 60 years was the period during which the Picts disappeared from the written record as a distinct political population. By around AD 900, sources begin referring to rulers of Alba rather than kings of the Picts.
The Biggest Mysteries About The Scottish Picts
The Pict people had distinct symbols, including crescents and V-rods, double discs and Z-rods, mirrors, combs, animals and the strange ‘Pictish beast’. The symbols are often shown in pairs, which some historians say can mean they represent names, families, lineages, ranks, etc.
Nobody actually knows what any of the symbols mean.
They’re not necessarily mysteries, but around 300 carved Pictish stones have been found across Scotland. 200 are early/Class I boulders, and some are Christian cross-slabs. New stones are still being discovered!
The language is another small mystery. Most evidence supports Brittonic Celtic, but the ogham inscriptions remain disputed and poorly understood. 30 ogham inscriptions have been found in areas associated with the Picts, dating between AD 500 and 1000.
The ‘Pictish beast’ is another interesting one. One of their most distinctive symbols shows an elongated animal with curved features unlike any obvious Scottish species. Was it real? We suppose it’s as real as the Loch Ness monster. There is no scholarly consensus on either the animal or its symbolic meaning, so the mystery will likely always remain a mystery, much like most other Scottish myths.
So, the Pict people aren’t necessarily lost, but most of what made the population what they were is lost today. They’re a big part of Scottish history. We’ll continue to cover Scottish history and some myths in our Scottish History and Myths series!