Battle Stone from Mortlach
The Battle Stone of Mortlach is a cross slab or a Pictish symbol stone of Class II made of green slate , which probably dates to the middle of the 11th century. The stone is about 1.75 meters high and 0.56 meters wide. It is in the lowest part of the Mortlach Kirk cemetery south of Dufftown in Banffshire , Scotland . It is said to commemorate the victory of Malcolm II over the Danes at the Battle of Barry near Carnoustie in 1010.
The stone shows on one side a Christian Celtic cross , decorated with spiral patterns, a pair of fish monsters and an animal ( ram ) and on the other side Pictish symbols, a dog, a bird (eagle), a snake, a bull's head and a Equestrian. The stone is very weathered and covered with lichen. The cross is easy to see, but the rest of the carving is difficult to see.
The battle stone is one of two Pictish symbol stones in Mortlach. The other, probably older, (Mortlach 2) is in the anteroom of the church. About 14 km to the west there are four other stones of a similar type, the symbol stones of Inveravon .
See also
literature
- Alastair Mack: Field guide to the Pictish symbol stones. Pinkfoot Press, Balgavies 1998
- WD Simpson: Notes on Lulach's Stone, Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire; a symbol stone recently found in Mortlach Churchyard, Banffshire; and other antiquities , Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 60, 1925-6. Pp. 274-6
Web links
- with sketch of the front of the Battle Stone .
- Sketch of the back of the Battle Stone .
- Entry on Battle Stone of Mortlach in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English) Battle Stone
- Entry on Battle Stone of Mortlach in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English) Mortlach 2
Coordinates: 57 ° 26 '18 " N , 3 ° 7' 36.9" W.