An ancient people living in Scotland have been depicted as black in a new children’s book conceived to show youngsters the ‘multicultural and diverse’ origins of the country.
Carved in Stone: A Storyteller’s Guide to the Picts is an illustrated history of the tribes who lived in eastern and northern Scotland from around 270 to 900 AD.
Within the tome – aimed at children aged 14 and up – are cartoonish images of the Picts that include black villagers, as well as monks, bishops and religious healers.
Partly financed by the taxpayer-funded Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the team behind the book is looking at making it available for free in schools and libraries, according to reports.
The project was originally proposed four years ago as a role-playing game about the Picts, before it was expanded into a comprehensive historical work, with the creative team stating in a promotional video: ‘We’re proud to bring together some of Scotland’s leading archaeologists, with a host of queer, marginalised and disabled voices to dispel misconceptions of the past.’
According to a statement on the website for heritage organisation Dig It, which partnered on the project, Carved in Stone was designed to ‘present the latest archaeological research about the Picts in a more accessible and engaging way which highlights that the Picts were like any human society: complicated.’
It continues: ‘They responded to, built on, and contributed to the cultures around them, were internationally connected, were intricately skilled artists, held a mixture of religious beliefs, and went out of their way to accommodate disabled members of society.’
The Romans named the tribe as Picti – meaning ‘painted people’ – largely because they were said to sport tattoos.
An ancient people living in Scotland have been depicted as black in a new children’s book conceived to show youngsters the ‘multicultural and diverse’ origins of the country
Carved in Stone: A Storyteller’s Guide to the Picts is an illustrated history of the tribes who lived in eastern and northern Scotland from around 270 to 900 AD
However the authors of Carved in Stone ‘believe that evidence is inconclusive’, the Telegraph reports.
‘Although the Picts certainly had the artistic capabilities, tattooing does not show up in any of their stone carvings.
‘Furthermore, while some blue pigments such as woad or copper were available, they would have known that these were unsafe for human use.’
Instead, the historians behind the book believe that while some Picts had tattoos, there were also among them individuals who had none.
Evidence suggests that the core of the Pictish kingdom was in present-day Moray and Aberdeenshire, but it also stretched down to the Firth of Forth and across from the Isle of Skye to Shetland.
According to a genetic study published in 2023, the Picts descended from Iron Age populations long established in Britain.
The depiction of black Picts follows the recent inclusion of illustrations portraying St Augustine as a black man in a children’s book written by Church of England officials.
One of the most influential figures in Christian history, St Augustine has been depicted as black in a new book called Heroes of Hope.
St Augustine has been depicted as a black man in Heroes of Hope, a children’s book (pictured) written by Church of England officials as part of its diversity drive
This book says it seeks to inspire children with examples of ‘Black and brown saints, often erased and whitewashed from history, who formed the church and therefore modern society as we know it today’.
Aurelius Augustinus was born in 345 AD in a Mediterranean coastal town now in modern-day Algeria, going on to become a bishop of the North African settlement of Hippo.
Over the years, most depictions of St Augustine have been of a white man.
At that time in history the area was a Roman province, although Augustine and his mother Saint Monica may have originated from the North African Berber ethnic group.
Although this would not make him black, there have been efforts to apply this identity to him by some groups, including at the Catholic University of Villanova in Pennsylvania.
An official at the university wrote in 2023 that it was important to depict the saint as black because ‘depicting St. Augustine as a Black man actively decentres whiteness’.
Heroes of Hope was co-authored by The Rev Dr Sharon Prentis, who was appointed the deputy director of the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit in January 2023.
The unit was set up in 2022, in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, to help meet the Church’s commitments to achieving racial justice.
