It began life as a game, where people could step into the shoes of one of the most elusive peoples from Scotland’s past.
But now a project to let people play as a Pict has taken on a life of its own – and grown into one of the best books ever written about a race that time forgot.
Following a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2021, and four years of work by game designers, writers, archaeologists and a diverse group of artists, Carved in Stone is now available for purchase.
Packed with information on the weather, languages, settlements, cuisine, fashion, medicine, skills and more, cutting-edge research, the illustrated guide to the world of one of Scotland's early civilisations is presented in over 160 pages with more than 350 historically informed illustrations.
The Picts were an early medieval Scottish society who ruled much of North East Scotland and beyond in the late 7th century.
Named by the Romans for their habit of tattooing themselves – now believed to be artistic license on the part of Imperial historians – they have a relatively one-dimensional image in popular culture, often portrayed as barbarians.
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.
According to current belief, 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.
More evidence is found every year that suggests they could have been farmers, hunters, blacksmiths, monks, artisans, members of the warbands of kings, and every possible profession of the early medieval period.
With regards to a Pictish tattooing tradition, the authors of Carved in Stone believe that evidence is inconclusive.
Carved in Stone is available from the Stout Stoat Press website . The creators will also be delivering a free public lecture on 11 December 2025 in Edinburgh and online.
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.
The authors propose that tattoos of varying colours were as common for the Picts as they are today; a few people had many, some people had one or two, and most had none.
The project was led by Brian Tyrell of Stout Stoat Press, an Edinburgh-based games-and-book publisher, and ArchaeoPlays’ Dr Heather Christie FSAScot, an archaeologist, gamer and YouTuber, in partnership with a Scottish charity, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, through their Dig It! project.
The book is designed to be enjoyed by with an interest in Scotland’s past. It can also still be used to build adventures in table-top roleplaying games, where players explore the landscape, meet the Picts and their neighbours, and create their own stories.
The Picts were descended from Iron Age tribes, whom the Romans called the Caledonii (among other names). The ancestors of these tribes arrived in the lands of modern-day Scotland less than 3,000 years ago.
The Pictish people formed a series of smaller kingdoms, many of which are thought to have unified in the late 7th century to form a single kingdom. Though their kingdom’s name is currently lost, modern academics refer to it as Pictland.
Evidence suggests that the heart of the Pictish kingdom was in present-day Moray and Aberdeenshire. However, it also stretched down to the Firth of Forth and across from the Isle of Skye to Shetland. Anyone who arrived and settled in Pictish lands throughout this chapter of their civilisation was generally considered Pictish.
Carved in Stone has already been applauded by experts, including Dr. Adrián Maldonado, Project Curator at National Museums Scotland, and Prof. Katherine Forsyth FSAScot, Professor of Celtic Studies at the University of Glasgow.
Dr. Maldonado said: "It’s basically the best book on the Picts ever written. By starting from Scotland’s environment, and incorporating lessons from archaeology, history and art, this brings the Picts to life more effectively than any other depiction I’ve yet seen."
Prof. Forsyth said “Such a lot of thought and care has gone into this painstaking recreation of what it was like to live in Scotland in the seventh century.
“The result is a fresh perspective which is wonderfully creative yet grounded in thorough research and accessible in our age. The Picts emerge from the shadows and step forward in technicolour. This will inspire readers to bring them to life in their imagination and in their games.”
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Dr. Jeffrey Sanders FSAScot, Head of Outreach at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, added: "There have been so many exciting archaeological discoveries about the Picts in recent years and we wanted to find a way to really bring these stories to life.
“So we spoke to Stout Stoat Press about designing a setting for a tabletop roleplaying game where people could actually use this information to play as a Pict.
“But to do justice to their diversity of cultures, languages and social life, they ended up creating a book that far exceeded our original plan, effectively producing a sweeping guide which captures early medieval Pictish life in its rich entirety."
Dr. Susan O'Connor, Head of Grants at Historic Environment Scotland, said: "While evidence of Pictish life still surrounds us today, not much is known about the way they actually lived, and what's easily accessible often doesn’t reflect the complexity of their society.
“We are delighted that Carved in Stone will be an accessible and engaging resource to explore this fascinating period, and welcome Dig It!'s continued work to bring Scotland's past to life in novel and inclusive ways."
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