 Viking art avoided naturalism , favouring stylised animal motifs to create its ornamental patterns . <unk> @-@ interlace was important and plant motifs became fashionable in the tenth and eleventh centuries . Most Scottish artefacts come from 130 " pagan " burials in the north and west from the mid @-@ ninth to the mid @-@ tenth centuries . These include jewellery , weapons and occasional elaborate high status items . Amongst the most impressive of these is the Scar boat burial , on Orkney , which contained an elaborate sword , <unk> with arrows , a brooch , bone comb , gaming pieces and the Scar Dragon Plaque , made from whalebone , most of which were probably made in Scandinavia . From the west , another boat burial at <unk> Bay in <unk> revealed a sword , shield , iron cauldron and <unk> scales , which may be Celtic in origin . A combination of Viking and Celtic styles can be see in a penannular brooch from <unk> in Orkney , which has a Pictish @-@ style looped pin . It is about two inches in diameter , with traces of <unk> , and probably housed a piece of amber surrounded by <unk> ribbons . After the conversion to Christianity , from the tenth to the twelfth centuries , stone crosses and cross @-@ slabs in Viking occupied areas of the Highlands and Islands were carved with successive styles of Viking ornament . They were frequently mixed with native interlace and animal patterns . Examples include the eleventh @-@ century cross @-@ slab from <unk> <unk> on the island of Islay , where the plant motifs on either side of the cross @-@ shaft are based upon the <unk> style of Viking art . The most famous artistic find from modern Scotland , the Lewis <unk> , from Uig , were probably made in Trondheim in Norway , but contain some decoration that may have been influenced by Celtic patterns . 
