Medieval bronze belt buckle from a collection of around 200 bronze objects found by amateur archaeologist George Holleyman at Balevullin in 1941-43, when he served at RAF Tiree during WWII. Identified by Dr Colleen Batey, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Glasgow University and David Caldwell, retired Keeper of Medieval Department at the National Museum of Scotland during a visit to An Iodhlann on 29th April 2016.
Wooden case (550 x 325 mm) containing approximately 200 small bronze objects and eight worked flints collected by George Holleyman from a sand-hill site at Balevullin during 1941-3.
Book ‘Vikings – life and legend’ edited by G Williams, P Pentz and M Wemhoff, 2014. Published to accompany a major exhibition at the British Museum, the book explores developements in Scandinavian society in a global context during the core period of the Viking Age (AD 800-1050).
De-accessioned 20.3.2026.
Book ‘The Viking World’ by James Graham-Campbell, 2013. Authoritative update on a previous edition of the same title, based on recent archaeological research, with a new chapter on ships, shipwrights and seamen.
Book ‘The Viking Ship’ by Gareth Williams, 2014. The evolution of the design of the Vikings’ sea-going vessels, their uses and as icons.
Book ‘Vikings!’ by I P Stephenson, 2013. A history of the Viking as warriors.
De-accessioned 21.3.2026.
Collection of 12 academic papers (1984-2013) about Vikings in the Hebrides including information on Norse names in Barra, the Hebrides and the N Atlantic area, Viking silver and gold artefacts, migration to the Inner Hebrides, Norse and Gaelic ancestry by DNA analysis, genetic evidence in Shetland and Orkney, colonization of the N. Atlantic, ethnicity, the Vikings in Gaelic oral tradition.
A historical account of Tiree and its churches
Typed account of some key events in Tiree’s history and its churches. Unknown author. May have been the notes for a public talk. Typed ca. 1960. Found by the Rev. Neil MacKinnon, Cumbernauld, during a clear out of his house in 2010.
Click here to view 2010.70.1
Collection of six brass or bronze objects found on Balevullin machair, and a photocopied note.
Six brass or bronze objects found on Balevullin machair and examined by the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland in Edinburgh at some time before 1953, and some identified as parts of brooches or pins, possibly Viking.
Wooden case containing 66 pottery shards.
Wooden case (550 x 325 mm) containing 66 pottery shards collected by George Holleyman from a sand-hill site at Balevullin during 1941-3. Documented on E00033. Reviewed by Dr Euan MacKie in summer 2000 (see 2000.167). Items further identified by Dr Ewan Campbell, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology in Glasgow, in July 2018: Norse ‘platter; early medieval; 16th-18th century.
