Dunachton symbol stone
The Pictish symbol stone Dunachton is a stone category Class I. He stands in the garden of Dunachton Lodge, near the A9 in Inverness-shire in the Highlands in Scotland , dating from the 7th century.
The 1.31 m high, 0.4 m wide and 0.11 m thick Pictish symbol stone made of diorite was found in 1870 when the old lodge was demolished and the stones were used to build the new one. It had been reused as a lintel over a door. It was erected on a sandstone pedestal in the garden and fell over and back up several times. The Dunachton Lodge was built on the site of a castle.
description
It is a tapered columnar plate with a single symbol cut at the top. This is a right-facing deer head, with a large eye, a pierced ear, a spiral at the nape of the neck, and a vertical line ending in the center of the neck. The end of the deer's snout in the upper right corner where the stone is damaged is missing.
classification
In "The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland" (1903) John Romilly Allen (1847-1907) and Joseph Anderson (1832-1916) classified the stones in three classes. Critics have noted weaknesses in the system, but it continues to be used. Class 1 are unworked stones with incised symbols. There are no cross representations. The stones date from the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries.
About 350 stones are currently known, but new ones are constantly being discovered.
Nearby is the Raitts Cave basement .
Web links
- Entry on Dunachton Stone in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Description and picture
Coordinates: 57 ° 7 '2.3 " N , 3 ° 56" 56.1 " W.