Hogback by Inchcolm

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Similar hogback in Brechin Church

The Hogback of Inchcolm ( English Inchcolm Hogback Stone or "Inchcolm Abbey") is a heavily weathered, Viking Age (800-1050 AD) carved tombstone from the island of Inchcolm ( Irish Innis Choluim - German  "Island of holy Columba" ), in the Firth of Forth in County Fife , Scotland .

Description and history

This so-called “pig back stone” from the middle of the 10th century is one of the few hogbacks found in situ and is considered one of the oldest in Scotland. It bears a resemblance to the hagback of St Kentigern's Church in Aspatria, and Lowther and Wycliffe in northern England.

The hogback measures about 1.5 × 0.55 × 0.3 m and was enclosed for a long time by a low iron grating. It has zoomorphic ends and a weathered human figure with arms raised in prayer ( adorant ) in the middle of the vertical east side. In order to protect the "Hogback Monument" from the weather, it was decided to move it into the interior. In connection with this operation, an area of ​​5.0 mx 6.5 m was excavated around the stone. A message from the 16th century mentions a stone cross near the Hogback. The aim of the excavation was to find evidence of the cross and to examine the immediate vicinity of the Hogback for unknown connections.

Around the stone were four pits with human bones, which probably represent the relocation of the bones that took place during the last construction work on the island.

See also

literature

  • James T. Lang: Hogback monuments in Scotland. In: Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Vol. 105, 1972, ISSN  0081-1564 , pp. 206-235 ( full text , PDF 3.6 MB).
  • Richard Fawcett, David McRoberts, Fiona Stewart: Inchcolm Abbey and Island. HMSO, sl 1989, ISBN 0-11-493493-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Its outline is modeled on the roof of a Viking Age building (compare, for example, Fyrkat and Trelleborg ), i.e. curved over the entire length like a pig's back, bulging on the side, i.e. ship-shaped in cross-section. Some stones have a large bear sculpture at both ends or are decorated with ships of the dead, snakes, other animals, with ring knots or anthropomorphically . The main decorative elements are shingle- like roof shingles

Coordinates: 56 ° 1 ′ 46.1 ″  N , 3 ° 18 ′ 11.5 ″  W.