• Jump to main content
  • Home page
  • What's on
  • Site map
  • Search
  • About us
  • Freedom of Information
  • Complaints procedure
  • Privacy policy
  • Contact us
  • Access key details

National Museums Scotland

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Venue hire
  • Home
Search
  • Our museums
  • What's on
  • Highlights
  • Kids
  • Learning
  • Collections & research
  • Making connections
  • Support us
  • Shop
  • National Museum
    • What's on
    • Plan your visit
    • Explore the galleries
    • Exhibitions
    • Past exhibitions
      • Extremes
      • Silver
      • Picasso: Fired with Passion
      • Pixar: 20 Years of Animation
      • Fonn 's Duthchas
      • Jean Muir: A Fashion Icon
      • Garden Detectives
      • Ballast
      • Salt of the Earth
      • Gifted
      • Iron Age gold
      • Meet Your Maker
      • Treasured
      • Shining Lights
      • A Passion for Glass
      • Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked
      • Behind the Scenes
      • 26 Treasures
        • The treasures
          • Lewisian Gneiss
          • Westlothiana lizziae
          • Towie ball
          • Cramond lioness
          • St Ninian's Isle treasure
          • Hilton of Cadboll stone
          • Lewis chessmen
          • Queen Mary harp
          • Bute mazer
          • The Maiden
          • Coigrich
          • Alexander Peden's mask and wig
          • Napier's bones
          • Darien chest
          • Instrument of Authority
          • Serf's collar
          • The King's Prize at Leith
          • Travelling canteen
          • Sporran clasp with pistols
          • Gown of Repentance
          • Arthur's Seat coffins
          • Suit in Ross tartan
          • Daniel Laidlaw's VC
          • Drag chains for BAE ship
          • Govan rent strike rattle
          • Bionic hand
        • 26 Treasures competition
        • The Alternative 26
      • Admiral Cochrane
      • Evolution's Missing Chapter
      • Fascinating Mummies
      • See Scotland by Train
      • A Sense of Place
      • Sounds Global
      • One Thousand Points of Light
      • Catherine the Great
      • Dr Livingstone, I presume?
      • Vikings!
    • Our new museum
    • School visits
    • Brave
    • Museum Explorer app
  • War Museum
  • Museum of Rural Life
  • Museum of Flight
  • Museum of Costume
  • Museums Collection Centre
Towie ball

Towie ball

Collette Davis writes about the mysterious Towie ball, which you'll find in the Early People gallery on Level -1.

Spirals of Power

She is in me, almighty in increments.
A measured Archimedean
With method so patient it is almost sentient;
Snaking slowly
Around the same point
That always looks different.
Distant, somehow.

She is on me, my opiate Mandala.
In rhythm, she moves
In the grooves of a treasured record,
Driven into my glacial pallor
With a hammer, of sorts.
Behold my ancient tattoos.

Spirals of Power

About the author

Collette Davis

Collette Davis copywrites for brand, design, advertising and digital.

“I want to find new words to describe old things.”

Share this page

  • Facebook Icon Facebook
  • Del.iciou.us Icon Delicious
  • StumbleUpon Icon Stumble Upon
  • Twitter Icon Twitter

What are these links?

The Towie ball

On display

  • Early People

Creation story

  • Towie ball

 

Connect with us

  • Follow us on Twitter Twitter
  • Join our Flickr projects Flickr
  • Read about our Museums Blog
  • Find out more on Facebook Facebook

Keep in touch

Sign up for our regular e-newsletter for all the latest news and events.

Sign up

  • Contact us
  • Site map
  • Privacy policy
  • Press office
  • Current vacancies

Shop online

National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130