The Cat Stones of Scotland (or, in Scots Gaelic, the ''Clach a'Chath'') are natural prominent rock features or standing stones around Scotland that are often linked to battles or burials. The English term ''cat'' applied to such stones derives from the Gaelic ''cath'' ().
''Clach a'Chait'' would be the Gaelic for "Stone of the Cat".
The name has a variety of spellings in English, including ''Catstone'', ''Cat Stone'', ''Catstane'', ''Cat's Stone'' and ''Cat Stane''.
Associations
The Cat Stones are mainly linked with battles
or burials whilst a few may have primary or secondary connections with Scottish Wildcats (
Felis silvestris
The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur is ...
). Many hills also have 'Cat' as a part of their name such as Cat Castle, Cat Law, Cath Law, Cat Hill, Cade Hill, Cat Cairn, Hill of Cat, etc. The 'Cat' element origin is one of the more disputed of the place-names.
The Scots Gaelic 'caid' means summit and 'cath' means battle.
Cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
s were once referred to as 'cat-heaps'.
[McKenzie, W.C. (1931). ''Scottish Place-Names.'' London:Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. p.66]
Cairns or tumuli are often associated with battles or burial sites, such as the supposed burial place of
Somerled
Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...
at Knock in
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...
where
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant (14 June Old Style, OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales ...
in 1772 was shown "''a mount or tumulus, with a foss round the base, and a single stone on the top, which he was told indicated the spot where Somerled was slain.''"
Cat Stone sites
The Catstane, City of Edinburgh
![The Cat Stane at Edinburgh Airport - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/The_Cat_Stane_at_Edinburgh_Airport_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1735737.jpg)
The
Catstane (NT 14899 74378), a monolith, formed the focus for a cemetery of long-cist burials and once bore an inscription, translated as "''In this tomb lies Vetta, daughter of Victricus''"' written in a 5th or 6th century AD script. The stone is a rounded boulder with a circumference at the base of 3.65m with a height of 1.3m. It is not known whether it was artificially shaped or selected because of its shape. In 1699 it stood on the perimeter of a low cairn with a border of large horizontal kerbstones.
The long cists of an Early Christian cemetery were established in a Bronze Age site consisting of a standing stone and kerb-cairn dating from the second millennium BC, the standing stone then being re-used for an Early Christian inscription.
[Wickham-Jones, C. R. (2009), ''The Landscape of Scotland''. Stroud : The History Press. . pp. 23 - 24.] The Catstane has been excavated and removed from its location at
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by t ...
due to development works.
The Catstane stood in what had been an arable field on the farm of Brigs and tradition has it that it commemorates either a battle fought between the forces of
Malcolm II
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda ( gd, Maol Chaluim mac Choinnich, label=Modern Scottish Gaelic; anglicized Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was King of Scots from 1005 until his death. He was a son of King Kenneth II; but the name of his moth ...
and those of the usurper Constantine, or the spot where the latter was killed. The name is supposed to be a corruption of Constantine. The battle itself is traditionally said to have been fought about 2 miles west of the Catstane at the Hamlet of Newbridge.
The Cat Stone, Perth and Kinross
This standing stone, one of a pair, stands at NGR NN711478 and is also known as Coille Dhubh or Clach Taghairm nan Cat. The nearest village is
Fortingall
Fortingall is a small village in highland Perthshire, Scotland, in Glen Lyon. Its nearest sizable neighbours are Aberfeldy and Kenmore. Its Gaelic name is ''Fartairchill'' (lit. "Escarpment Church"—i.e. "church at the foot of an escarpmen ...
. The associated legend is that at
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
Scottish wildcats formed a circle around it to dignify a huge black cat that sat atop the stone. The Stone of the Demon stands opposite.
The Cat Craig, North Ayrshire
In the
Barony of Ladyland
The Barony of Ladyland was in the old feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Kilbirnie in what is now North Ayrshire, Scotland.
The history of the Barony of Ladyland
In the Parish of Kilbirnie were three baronies, Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and ...
the Cat Craig is located beside the lane running up to Cockston Farm and is one of two drystone wall enclosed crags.
The Cat Stane, North Ayrshire
On the lands of Blackstone near
Giffordland
Giffordland is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Dalry (Cunninghame) in the former Region of Strathclyde, Scotland.
Background
Giffordland was a small barony, but the families associated with it played an active part in the history of feudal Sco ...
in North Ayrshire stands the prominent rock feature known as the Cat Stane. No local details of its history survive and John Smith the antiquarian associates it with the site of a battle. As an easily identified and prominent landscape feature that would serve as an ideal rallying point for the vassals of the laird prior to battle as was the borestone at
Giffen Castle
The Barony of Giffen and its associated 15th-century castle were in the parish of Beith in the former District of Cunninghame, now North Ayrshire. The site may be spelled Giffen or Giffin and lay within the Lordship of Giffin, which included t ...
and
Greenhills near
Beith
Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...
, also in
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...
. The
Battle of Largs
The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. Through it, Scotland achieved the end of 500 years of Norse Viking depredations and invasions despite bei ...
was fought in 1263 and nearby Camphill is said to have been a rallying point for the Scottish army.
The Cat Stone or Clach a'Chath, Isle of Arran
The story associated with the Cat Stone is that circa 1652 a skirmish took place between garrison troops from
Brodick Castle
Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castle ...
and a group of locals at Allt-a-Chlaideimh (Sword Burn) with the last soldier killed at Clach-a-Chath, the Battle Stone (NR918488).
The Cat's Stone, Dumfries and Galloway
This stone overlooks the original site of
Loch Doon Castle
Loch Doon Castle was a castle that was located on an island within Loch Doon, Scotland. The original site and the relocated remains are designated as scheduled ancient monuments.
History
Loch Doon Castle was built in the late 13th century on ...
in
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
.
The Cat Stone, Banff
At the summit of the Cat Stone Hill stands a "''large rock denuded & waterworn''", there is nothing historical or traditional connected with it.
Scotlands Places
/ref>
See also
*The Holy Cave, Hunterston
The Holy Cave at Hunterston in the Parish of West Kilbride is associated with Saint Mungo, also known as St Kentigern and is often referred to as the Hawking Craig Cave however two caves exists in the Hawking Craig Wood and 'Three Sisters' area o ...
References
External links
The Cat Stone, Arran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cat Stones of Scotland
Scheduled monuments in Scotland
Archaeological sites in Edinburgh
6th century in Scotland
Megalithic monuments in Scotland
Bronze Age Scotland
Culture of medieval Scotland
Landforms of North Ayrshire