Papil Stone
The Papil Stone is a so-called Class III cross stone that was found in 1877 in the cemetery of St Laurence Church on the Shetland island of West Burra , where it was reused as a grave plate.
The plate, which is partly decorated in the manner of Pictish symbol stones , shows four people with bishop's staffs, dressed in priestly robes , under the paw cross . Two of them wear a kind of “school satchel” - a detail that only appears on the cross stones of the Shetland Islands.
Below the group there is a rather wolf-like incision called the “Pictish Lion”, which could date the stone to the 8th century. In contrast to this, the round upper finish points to the 7th century. The inlays on the cross are reminiscent of Irish examples or Manx crosses.
Near the base of the plate, two people with “bird heads” stand facing each other, whose style is completely different from the rest of the carvings. The cross plate is reminiscent of the equally strange Bressay Stone from Cullingsburgh.
The Papil Stone is now in the National Museum of Scotland . A copy is available where it was found.
literature
- EJ Cowan, R. Andrew McDonald (Eds.): Alba. Celtic Scotland in the medieval era . Tuckwell, East Linton 2000, ISBN 1-86232-151-5 , pp. 76-87.
- Richard Feachem: Guide to prehistoric Scotland . 2nd edition. Batsford, London 1977, ISBN 0-7134-3264-0 .
Web links
Coordinates: 60 ° 3 '59 " N , 1 ° 20' 13.5" W.