[MR] BBC: “Elfshots" in Scotland

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, especially fellow Scots,

Today the BBC has a brief article on Scotland's top archaeological finds
for 2025. Most of the finds are outside of the SCA's main interest period,
however, one item especially tweaked my curiosity.

One of the finds is an "elfshot" amulet. It is a neolithic or bronze-age
flint arrowhead mounted in a silver setting. The combined piece probably
dates to the 16th or 17th century, but  . . . uh . . . points to an even
older folk belief prevalent in Scotland and also other parts of the British
isles.

Before modern medicine, many people believed that human and animal
illnesses, or even unusual pains like headaches or cramps, could be caused
with magical projectiles launched by not-so-nice elves or other unruly
fairy folk. Flint arrow points were sometimes found during the middle ages,
and were believed to be spent elfen ammunition. The belief grew that the
found points themselves could become a charm against mischievous attacks,
which probably explains why the arrowhead was mounted as an amulet.

To see the elfshot point, and to read about the other discoveries, go to
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmnlpy0jljo .

More about elfshots is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfshot .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.