| SYMBOL STONES: |
|
| MOVEMENT of portable stones has changed the picture: of 202 pre-Christian (early-Historic class I) |
| & Christian (early-Medieval class II) Pictish stones throughout Eastern Scotland showing geometric and |
| mystical designs and stylized sacred animals of the Pictish pantheon, only four in Aberdeenshire remain in |
| their original positions: Rhynie Craw Stane NJ 497 263; Nether Corskie Dunecht NJ 748 096; Ardlair |
| Kennethmont NJ 554 278 and the Picardy Stone, Insch. In the county of Banffshire, no symbol stone |
| is scheduled by Historic Scotland and none is in Guardianship; matters are currently confused by a local |
| government convention of naming Banffshire within Aberdeenshire. Historically it is a separate county. |
|
| AT ABERDEEN, the Dyce symbol stones are scheduled and in Guardianship, but their original site is lost |
| and while until recently they rested in a recess of the Chapel of St Fergus, Historic Scotland has exercised |
| State prerogative to move them to Edinburgh, on grounds of 'conservation'; no replicas have been |
| substituted. Click here for information on government Agencies. In central Aberdeenshire, three symbol |
| stones are in Guardianship and 18 are scheduled, while in Kincardineshire, four are scheduled, none in |
| Guardianship; Moray has eight stones scheduled, with Sueno's Stone (9thC cross slab, NJ 046 595) in |
| Guardianship. Of the rest, Museums have taken a substantial sampling, as have private owners who have |
| historically had permission to erect them in their grounds.While a similar situation applies to the preservation |
| of stone circles and lone megaliths throughout the region, (less than an eighth protected by effective |
| legislation), they are preserved, thankfully, by their size and by a long-standing tradition, backed by |
| superstition, that moving them brings catastrophe. |
|
| OF THE LARGER monoliths, the 6.5m high Sueno's Stone at Forres has set an example by remaining in |
| situ but with the protection of a glass case. This is preferable to wholesale removal, such as Strathearn's |
| Dupplin Cross from its hillside at Forteviot to glamorise a new exhibition at the Museum of Scotland in |
| Edinburgh. No replica has been substituted for the thousands of visitors who expect to find something at |
| the end of their climb to this dramatic site. Historic Scotland have promised to return it in two years' time, |
| but not to its original site: it is to be housed in St Serf's Church in Dunning. |
|
| Essays on the Picts: |
|
| Canticle for a Lost Nation: part I |
| Canticle for a Lost Nation: part II |
| Canticle for a Lost Nation: part III |
|
| The two essays which follow were written in 1998 by Marian Youngblood© as part of a dissertation |
| in Pictish Studies for the Northeast ‘Local’ Studies department at the University of Aberdeen. We are |
| grateful to the Centre for Continuing Education [Key Learning] and, in particular to Donald Paterson |
| and his team for endless encouragement and enthusiasm. |
|
| The Role of lordship centres in Pictish society |
| The Church as principal vehicle for the progressive Gaelicisation of Pictland |
|
| Links to Pictish stones featured on the Friends of Grampian Stones website: |
|
| Animal symbols: |
| Brandsbutt - Class I incised serpent from the north end of the medieval burgh of Inverurie |
| Clatt - Class I incised dolphin from Clatt, near Rhynie, Aberdeenshire |
| Inverurie - Class I incised serpent in the old churchyard of 'the Castle Yards' near the Bass |
| Maiden Stone - incised dolphin and horse on Class II stone on N slope of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire |
|
| Geometric designs: |
| Brandsbutt - Class I stone from the north end of the medieval burgh of Inverurie |
| Elgin - Class II cross slab in the cathedral precinct, Elgin, Morayshire |
| Inverurie - Class I stones in the old churchyard of 'the Castle Yards' near the Bass |
| Maiden Stone - Class II cross slab on N slope of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire |
| Monymusk - Class II cross slab in vestibule of St Mary's 12C chapel, Monymusk, Aberdeenshire |
|
| Ogham inscriptions: |
| Brandsbutt - Class I stone from the north end of the medieval burgh of Inverurie |
| Dupplin - carved cross from Forteviot |
|
| Cross-incised stones: |
| Dupplin - carved cross from Forteviot |
| Maiden Stone - Class II cross slab on N slope of Bennachie, Aberdeenshire |
| Monymusk - Class II cross slab in vestibule of St Mary's 12C chapel, Monymusk, Aberdeenshire |
| Sueno's Stone - 'Class III' cross slab near Forres, Morayshire |
|
| The Pictish Church: |
| Power of the Pictish Church - FOGS Samhain News Volume X number 1, All Hallows, November 1998 |
| The Book of Deer - Northeast Scotland's earliest Gaelic document - FOGS report |
| Monymusk Reliquary - portable Pictish-decorated shrine which held a finger-bone of Saint Columba |
|
| Other subjects: |
| Pictish kings list - a list of monarchs before the Scots took over, according to a consensus of Annals |
| History of Inverurie & the central valley of the Garioch - leaflet on Inverurie & surrounding district |
| Maiden - article on the Maiden Stone by Marian Youngblood which appeared in The LEY Hunter |
