'Once In A Lifetime' Pictish stone find in Ross-shire
The slab had been re-used as a grave marker sometime in the 18th century
A rare archaeological find is being described by experts as being of “national importance”, having been thought to have been carved around 1200 years ago. The previously unknown carved Pictish stone was found at an early church site in the Dingwall area.
The stone was first recognised earlier this year by Anne MacInnes of the North of Scotland Archaeological Society completing a survey of the church site.
She said “I was clearing vegetation when I spotted the carving. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing.” The find was subsequently verified by archaeologists from the Highland Council and Historic Environment Scotland. On Thursday the stone was safely removed from the site by specialist conservators. It will now be professionally conserved with a view to ultimately putting it on permanent public display at a Highland museum or other suitable venue.
The stone, which was reused as a grave marker in the 1790s, currently measures 1.5 by 0.6 by 0.2 metres. However it is broken and experts believe it may have originally stood up to 2.4 metres high. The stone is decorated with a number of Pictish designs including several mythical beasts, oxen, an animal headed warrior with sword and shield, and a double disc and z rod symbol. Details of the carvings on the reverse side are not yet known, but based on examples from similar stones they are likely to include a large ornate Christian cross. This will make it one of only about 50 complete or near complete Pictish cross-slabs known in the world, and the first to be discovered on the Scottish mainland for many years.
John Borland, Measured Survey Manager with Historic Environment Scotland and President of the Pictish Arts Society, stated that “the discovery of the top half of a large cross slab with Pictish symbols is of national importance. The find spot – an early Christian site in Easter Ross – is a new location for such sculpture so adds significant information to our knowledge of the Pictish church and its distribution, This new discovery will continue to stimulate debate and new research.“
Kirsty Cameron, the Highland Council Archaeologist, said “This is a once-in-a-lifetime find and what started as a small recording project has resulted in the identification of not only this important stone but also that the site itself must be much older than anyone ever expected. All credit goes to the local archaeologists for immediately recognising the importance of the stone and putting plans in place for securing its future.”
Mr Borland went on to say that “some of the best examples of complete cross slabs can be found in Easter Ross. However this new carving appears to have little in common with its relatively near neighbours. Of course the cross side is as yet unseen and when it is visible, this analysis may change. But for the time being, some of the figurative carving on the symbol-bearing side appears to have more in common with distant counterparts as far south as Perthshire. This may tell us something of the complex web of influence between important ecclesiastical sites in one part of Pictland and their far-flung satellite churches elsewhere.