Research

As I’m researching my family history from Ireland, whales, Scotland and Britain. My entire family history comes from these areas of the world.

I’m coming across some really incredible ancient tribes of Ireland and the British Isles, such as the Picts ( the tattooed or painted people, as Romana called them) and more southern Britons.

The Picts were an ancient civilization that is rumored to be heavily tattooed. The Picts wore their hair long on their head and lip but shaved the rest of their body hair to show off their skin art. They took much pride in their image, wearing only iron chains around their necks and waistline. Iron signified wealth as it was of more value to them than gold.

Though they were peaceful in most occasions and tilled the land as farmers, They’re believed to have been fierce warriors and successfully fought off the Romans on multiple occasions where most others were defeated by the power of the Roman armies.

“Time and time again, the Picts would lure the Romans into a false sense of security before striking when their guard was down. For instance, they would often charge the Romans on horseback and immediately retreat, luring the Roman cavalry away from their infantry. Then, a second squad of Picts would leap out of the woods and slaughter any Romans that had been foolish enough to give chase” www.allthatsinteresting.com

It has been documented folklore that the Picts painted their bodies for war... recently but it’s actually believed that they did not paint but rather tattooed or scarred the colors into their skin. One of the most prevalent and meaningful colors being indigo blue. The indigo hue was thought to have been the byproduct of woad.

Woad (Isatis tinctoria) can be used as an indigo coloured dye for materials, a safe, biodegradable natural ink, but not for the body. The paint or dye doesn’t work for war paint as it simply falls off the skin too easily and as a tattoo ink it is caustic. The substance scars the skin terribly and leaves no blue tint.

It’s now fairly common thinking that copper or iron could have been used to tattoo these incredible images instead. Although both are also toxic.

I’m studying this incredible history to perform a meaningful routine about my family story.

When I saw the Pict body art, my life and history started to make more sense. The artistic renderings are incredible and inspire me to continue on the journey of finishing my body art. It is a lifetime process so I’m in no hurry but certainly quite inspired to plan out each detail.

What would your next tattoo be?