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| images of the Maiden Stone on N slope of Bennachie - a sacred icon in rural Aberdeenshire |
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click here to view the article 'MAIDEN' by Marian Youngblood,
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which appeared in edition 127 (summer 1997) of The LEY Hunter
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Maiden Stone - Christian side Situated on the slopes of sacred Mother mountain, Bennachie, the Maiden stone shows on its Christian side a large decorated wheel cross with interlace pattern below and remnant of the Pictish belief system above in portrayal of two 'fish-monsters' whispering in the ear of a cleric, linking perhaps the old religion with the new. ©Marian Youngblood photo ©Marian Youngblood 1998 |
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| On the Pictish 'pagan' side, the stone is divided, storytelling- |
| fashion, into four panels, each featuring a different picture; |
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a hunting scene?
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ceremonial arch or altar
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a pale stilted rendition of the dolphin a water-creature sacred to the Picts, decorates the third panel, but compare it with a lifelike Class I dolphin at Clatt |
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| The lowest panel on the Maiden stone is the mirror and comb on the 'pagan' side (facing east). Its symbolism is seen frequently in earlier Pictish art. ©1999 MC Nagahiro |
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| click here to view the article 'MAIDEN' by Marian Youngblood, |
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which appeared in edition 127 (summer 1997) of The LEY Hunter
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contact Friends Of Grampian Stones by e-mail
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| ©1998-2004 Friends of Grampian Stones - Editor: Marian Youngblood |