Stone of Latheron

The stone of Latheron is a broken cross stone with an Ogham inscription in Pictish . It was found in 1903 on the inside wall of a barn near the village of Latheron in the Scottish county of Caithness in the Highlands .

The top and bottom shortened, about 90 cm high, rectangular sandstone slab shows on the upper side two rectangular figures in relief with a double spiral and braided patterns. A bird, a fish and two riders are carved into the lower part. The left side shows a row over the entire length of the stone, but probably an incomplete row of Ogham characters in the letter sequence DUNNODNNAT MAQQ NETO due to the breakage . It is important because there are only 31 other, mostly very short, inscriptions in the still incomprehensible Pictish language. It was transferred to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS) in 1905 by Sir Francis Tress Barry (1825–1907).

Nearby is the U-shaped stone setting Achavanich .

literature

• CE Batey: Caithness coastal survey 1982: interim reports 1980-2 , Durham (1982b)

Web links

• Entry on Latheron's Stone  in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
• Description Engl. and picture

Coordinates: 58 ° 16 '46.9 "  N , 3 ° 22' 8.2"  W.