Carving Description Cave Categories
Possibly, originally a Pictish beast Court Cave Pictish beast, Shape
Pictish beast and shape Court Cave Pictish beast, Shape
Double disc with floriated rod Court Cave Double disc, Floriated rod
Bird Court Cave Bird
Double disc Court Cave Double disc
Double crescent and Pictish beast Court Cave Double crescent, Pictish beast
Faint double disc and possible crescent with V-rod Court Cave Crescent, Double disc, V-rod
Triangular shapes Court Cave Shape
Triangle linked to circle Court Cave Shape
Triangular shapes Court Cave Shape
Double disc with floriated rod Court Cave Double disc, Floriated rod
Brooch shape Court Cave Shape
Midget cup marks forming a cross shape Court Cave Cross
Sometimes described as brooch shaped Court Cave Shape
Often described as Thor with his hammer and sacred goat Court Cave Human
Birds, an S-shape, unidentified animal and Greek crosses Doo Cave Bird, Cross, S-shape, Unidentified animal
Double disc with Z-rod and animal head Doo Cave Double disc, Floriated rod, Unidentified animal
Pictish beast Doo Cave Pictish beast
Double disc and arches Doo Cave Arch, Double disc
Flower shape Doo Cave Flower shape
Double disc and shapes Doo Cave Double disc, Shape
  Double disc and S-shapes Doo Cave Double disc, S-shape
Double discs and rectangle Doo Cave Double disc, Rectangle
Swan or goose Jonathan's Cave Bird
Greek cross Jonathan's Cave Cross
Double disc and unidentified animal Jonathan's Cave Double disc, Unidentified animal
Arch shape Jonathan's Cave Shape
Animal-like shape Jonathan's Cave Shape, Unidentified animal
Triangle and bird-like shape Jonathan's Cave Shape
Animals, birds and shapes Jonathan's Cave Bird, Shape, Unidentified animal
Bird Jonathan's Cave Bird
Faint double discs Jonathan's Cave Double disc
Cannon drawn in 20th century Jonathan's Cave Shape
Leaping salmon Jonathan's Cave Fish
Fish drawn in 20th century Jonathan's Cave Fish
Bird, rectangle, double disc Jonathan's Cave Bird, Double disc, Rectangle, Shape
Wolf or dog Jonathan's Cave Wolf
Double disc and fleur-de-lis shape Jonathan's Cave Double disc, Shape
Often described as a horse or bull Jonathan's Cave Lion
Horse/bull or deer shape Jonathan's Cave Unidentified animal
Pedestalled cross shapes sometimes described as tridents Jonathan's Cave Cross
Pedestalled cross shape sometimes described as a trident Jonathan's Cave Cross
Sometimes described as human shaped Jonathan's Cave Shape
Triangle, deer-like animal shape and circle Jonathan's Cave Shape, Unidentified animal
Damaged cross Jonathan's Cave Cross
Damaged crosses Jonathan's Cave Cross
Damaged cross Jonathan's Cave Cross
Two pedestalled damaged crosses Jonathan's Cave Cross
Greek crosses Jonathan's Cave Cross
Greek crosses Jonathan's Cave Cross
A Greek cross and a swastika form cross Jonathan's Cave Cross
Greek cross Jonathan's Cave Cross
Greek cross Jonathan's Cave Cross
5-oared boat steered by a 6th figure seated in the stern Jonathan's Cave Boat
Double disc Sliding cave Double disc
Rectangle with double disc Sliding cave Double disc, Rectangle
Personal names Well Cave Personal names
Medieval-style cross Well Cave Cross

There are no carvings matching this selection.

  Title Cave
Who were the Picts?
Fife Council Archaeologist Douglas Speirs talks about the Picts, and life at the caves 1500 years ago.
Standing on the shoulders of giants
How antiquarians and archaeologists have studied and recorded the Wemyss caves over the centuries.
Jonathan's Cave
The Tradition of Handsel Monday
Remembering the use of the Well Cave for celebration on the first Monday of the year.
Well Cave
The Game of Miners' Toss
Remembering the gambling that took place in the Court Cave.
Court Cave
Macduff's Castle
The history of the castle that stood on the cliffs above the caves
East Wemyss and Buckhaven Gasworks
The story of the 19th century gasworks which has now eroded into the sea.
What is RTI?
David Strange-Walker gives a rapid introduction to Reflectance Transformation Imaging.
Fly-around Jonathan's Cave
A virtual tour of the 3D point cloud generated from the laser scan.
Jonathan's Cave
  Image Location
Old postcard in front of the Court Cave looking towards East Wemyss, c. 1900.
Photo SWACS archives.
Court Cave
Women carrying baskets of fish taking a rest outside Court Cave, late 19th century.
Photo SWACS archives.
Court Cave
Miners play an illicit game of Toss in the Court Cave in the 1930's.
Photo SWACS archives.
Court Cave
Brick pillars were built to support the Court Cave in 1934. The cave entrance partially collapsed in 1970.
Photo SWACS archives.
Court Cave
Court Cave carvings illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Court Cave
J. Patrick photograph annotated by J. Romilly Allen of panel in the Court Cave showing 4 double discs and a possible crescent and V-rod, c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Court Cave
Annoted rubbing of double discs in Court Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Court Cave
Annoted rubbing of crescent and V-rod and double disc in Court Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Court Cave
Rubbing of Picitish beast in Court Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Court Cave
Rubbing of double crescent and Picitish beast in Court Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Court Cave
Annotated rubbing of cupmark cross shape, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Court Cave
Annotated rubbing of figure known locally as Thor, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Court Cave
The Doo Cave before the collapse of the West Doo Cave in the early 20th century. The blocked entrance dates from when it was used to house pigeons, c. 1900.
© Courtesy of RCAHMS (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Collection)
Doo Cave
Horse and cart on the track between the Court Cave and the Doo Cave, 1940s to 1960s?
Photo SWACS archives.
Doo Cave
West Doo Cave carvings illustrated by James Drummond.
From JY Simpson, Notices of Some Ancient Sculptures on the Walls of Caves in Fife, PSAS 1866.
Doo Cave
West Doo Cave carvings illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Doo Cave
J. Patrick photograph in J. Romilly Allen's notebooks of Pictish beast and other symbols in the now collapsed West Doo Cave c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
J. Patrick photograph annotated by J. Romilly Allen of Pictish beast and other symbols in the now collapsed West Doo Cave c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
Double disc, Z-rod and animal head symbol in the now collapsed West Doo Cave. Photograph by John Patrick, 1902.
© Courtesy of RCAHMS (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Collection)
Doo Cave
Annoted rubbing of double disc, Z-rod and animal head symbol in the now collapsed West Doo Cave, 1890
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
J. Patrick photograph in J. Romilly Allen's notebooks of birds, crosses and S-shaped figure in the now collapsed West Doo Cave c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
J. Patrick photograph annotated by J. Romilly Allen of birds, crosses and S-shaped figure in the now collapsed West Doo Cave c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
Annoted rubbing of flower in collapsed West Doo Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
J. Romilly Allen's sketch plan of the collapsed West Doo Cave, 20th May 1890
© The British Library Board (37542)
Doo Cave
Gasworks in the 1930's.
Photo SWACS archives.
Gasworks
Gasworks at low tide. Early 20th century.
Photo SWACS archives.
Gasworks
Gasworks in 1958 with a football special train from Glasgow Queen St. to Methil in the foreground.
Photo W.A.C.Smith, www.buckhaven.info - Information, Steve Chambers.
Gasworks
Outside Jonathan's Cave, looking towards MacDuff's Castle and doocot. Photograph by John Patrick 1902.
© Courtesy of RCAHMS (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Collection)
Jonathan's Cave
Jonathan's Cave carvings illustrated by James Drummond.
From JY Simpson, Notices of Some Ancient Sculptures on the Walls of Caves in Fife, PSAS 1866.
Jonathan's Cave
Jonathan's Cave carvings illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Jonathan's Cave
Lost Pictish beasts and birds in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by James Drummond.
From JY Simpson, Notices of Some Ancient Sculptures on the Walls of Caves in Fife, PSAS 1866.
Jonathan's Cave
Lost Pictish beasts and birds in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Jonathan's Cave
Rubbing of swan and Pictish beast (destroyed) in Jonathan's Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Jonathan's Cave
Lost Pictish beasts and birds in Jonathan's Cave. Photograph by John Patrick 1902.
© Courtesy of RCAHMS (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Collection)
Jonathan's Cave
Horse/lion? in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by James Drummond.
From JY Simpson, Notices of Some Ancient Sculptures on the Walls of Caves in Fife, PSAS 1866.
Jonathan's Cave
Horse/lion? in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by Andrew Gibb
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Jonathan's Cave
Annoted rubbing of horse/lion in Jonathan's Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Jonathan's Cave
Horse/lion? in Jonathan's Cave. Photograph by John Patrick 1902.
© Courtesy of RCAHMS (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Collection)
Jonathan's Cave
Fish in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by James Drummond.
From JY Simpson, Notices of Some Ancient Sculptures on the Walls of Caves in Fife, PSAS 1866.
Jonathan's Cave
Fish in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Jonathan's Cave
Annoted rubbing of fish in Jonathan's Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Jonathan's Cave
Photograph in J. Romilly Allen's notebooks of Jonathan's Cave wall showing fish, double disc and fleur de lys, c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Jonathan's Cave
Wolf in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by James Drummond.
From JY Simpson, Notices of Some Ancient Sculptures on the Walls of Caves in Fife, PSAS 1866.
Jonathan's Cave
Wolf in Jonathan's Cave illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Jonathan's Cave
Rubbing of wolf (?) in Jonathan's Cave, J. Romilly Allen, 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Jonathan's Cave
J. Patrick photograph in J. Romilly Allen's notebooks of Jonathan's Cave wall showing wolf and pedestalled crosses c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Jonathan's Cave
J. Patrick photograph annotated by J. Romilly Allen of Jonathan's Cave wall showing wolf and pedestalled crosses c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37542)
Jonathan's Cave
The first image of the Jonathan's Cave boat. Photograph by John Patrick 1902.
© Courtesy of RCAHMS (Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Collection)
Jonathan's Cave
An early photo of Macduff's Castle, c. 1870.
Photo SWACS archives.
Macduff's Castle
Macduff's Castle, late 19th or early 20th century.
Photo SWACS archives.
Macduff's Castle
Women working in the field (now the cemetery) behind MacDuff's Castle, c. 1920.
Photo SWACS archives.
Macduff's Castle
Macduff's Castle in 1860.
Courtesy of the University of St Andrews Library (ALB-2-210).
Macduff's Castle
Macduff's Castle, late 19th or early 20th century
Photo SWACS archives.
Macduff's Castle
View from the sea of Macduff's Castle, late 19th or early 20th century.
Photo Isabella Fraser, SWACS archives.
Macduff's Castle
Macduffs Castle from the Wemyss and Buckhaven branch line, late 19th or early 20th century.
Photo Isabella Fraser, SWACS archives.
Macduff's Castle
Sketch of Macduff's Castle, late 19th century.
From Macgibbon and Ross, 1892.
Macduff's Castle
Sketch of Macduff's Castle, late 19th century.
From Macgibbon and Ross, 1892.
Macduff's Castle
Sliding Cave carvings illustrated by Andrew Gibb.
From John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.
Sliding cave
Rubbing of double disc in Sliding Cave, J. Romilly Allen c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Sliding cave
Rubbing of rectangles in Sliding Cave, J. Romilly Allen c. 1890.
© The British Library Board (37573)
Sliding cave

These are links to references to the Wemyss Caves that can be found online. For further resources, see the Canmore collections for the Wemyss Caves.

From here you can download high-resolution versions of the RTI scans of each carving. These are much better quality than we can present on the website, and allow sophisticated control over lighting and filtering.

To view these files, you will need to download and install the free desktop RTI Viewer developed by CHI and available here - culturalheritageimaging.org.

These files are very large, so don't download unless you have the RTI viewer installed. They can not be viewed on iOS or Android devices.

Carving Description Link
Possibly, originally a Pictish beast W4D-CC-001_5184.ptm
Pictish beast and shape W4D-CC-002_5184.ptm
Double disc with floriated rod W4D-CC-004_5184.ptm
Bird W4D-CC-005_5184.ptm
Double disc W4D-CC-006_5184.ptm
Double crescent and Pictish beast W4D-CC-007_5184.ptm
Faint double disc and possible crescent with V-rod W4D-CC-008_5184.ptm
Triangular shapes W4D-CC-009_5184.ptm
Triangle linked to circle W4D-CC-010_5184.ptm
Triangular shapes W4D-CC-011_5184.ptm
Double disc with floriated rod W4D-CC-013_5184.ptm
Brooch shape W4D-CC-015_5184.ptm
Midget cup marks forming a cross shape W4D-CC-021_5184.ptm
Sometimes described as brooch shaped W4D-CC-025_5184.ptm
Often described as Thor with his hammer and sacred goat W4D-CC-030_5184.ptm
Swan or goose W4D-JC-001_4272.ptm
Greek cross W4D-JC-002_4272.ptm
Double disc and unidentified animal W4D-JC-004_3872.ptm
Arch shape W4D-JC-005_3872.ptm
Animal-like shape W4D-JC-006_3872.ptm
Triangle and bird-like shape W4D-JC-007_4272.ptm
Animals, birds and shapes W4D-JC-009_4272.ptm
Bird W4D-JC-012_4272.ptm
Faint double discs W4D-JC-013_4272.ptm
Cannon drawn in 20th century W4D-JC-014_4272.ptm
Leaping salmon W4D-JC-015_4272.ptm
Fish drawn in 20th century W4D-JC-016_4272.ptm
Bird, rectangle, double disc W4D-JC-017_4272.ptm
Wolf or dog W4D-JC-019_4272.ptm
Double disc and fleur-de-lis shape W4D-JC-020_4272.ptm
Often described as a horse or bull W4D-JC-021_4272.ptm
Horse/bull or deer shape W4D-JC-023_4272.ptm
Pedestalled cross shapes sometimes described as tridents W4D-JC-024_4272.ptm
Pedestalled cross shape sometimes described as a trident W4D-JC-025_4272.ptm
Sometimes described as human shaped W4D-JC-026_3848.ptm
Triangle, deer-like animal shape and circle W4D-JC-027_4272.ptm
Damaged cross W4D-JC-028_4272.ptm
Damaged crosses W4D-JC-029_4272.ptm
Damaged cross W4D-JC-030_4272.ptm
Two pedestalled damaged crosses W4D-JC-031_4272.ptm
Greek crosses W4D-JC-032_4272.ptm
Greek crosses W4D-JC-033_4272.ptm
A Greek cross and a swastika form cross W4D-JC-034_4272.ptm
Greek cross W4D-JC-035_4272.ptm
Greek cross W4D-JC-036_4272.ptm
5-oared boat steered by a 6th figure seated in the stern W4D-JC-037_4272.ptm
Double disc W4D-SC-001_6000.ptm
Rectangle with double disc W4D-SC-002_6000.ptm

From here you can download a sample of point cloud files stored in the E57 format.

These files are each approximately 1GB in size, so don't download them unless you have appropriate software installed such as Cloud Compare.

The files provided contain the laser scan point clouds for the Doo Cave. Across the entire site, there are 358 separate E57 files totalling 445GB of data. If you would like access to any or all of these scans, please contact The SCAPE Trust. You can also download a full list of all the scans we hold.

File Description
W4DScan086 Doocave inside entrance
W4DScan087 Doocave inside entrance
W4DScan088 Doocave small side passage
W4DScan089 Doocave small side passage
W4DScan090 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan091 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan092 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan093 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan094 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan095 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan096 Doocave main chamber
W4DScan097 Doocave main chamber

Point clouds created from Photogrammetry and visualised using the Potree WebGL based renderer for large point clouds.

File Description
Wemyss coastline 2018 Coastline flown in March 2018
Doo Cave Doo Cave interior 2015