The Drainie carved stones are a collection of 32
Pictish stones
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are ...
originating from the important early medieval monastic settlement of
Kinneddar
Kinneddar is a small settlement on the outskirts of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, near the main entrance to RAF Lossiemouth. Long predating the modern town of Lossiemouth, Kinneddar was a major monastic centre for the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu ...
on the outskirts of the modern town of
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth ( gd, Inbhir Losaidh) is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over ...
in
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. Despite their name the majority were discovered at Kinneddar - the location of the
manse
A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions.
Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
of the parish of
Drainie from which they take their name - rather than the separate settlement of Drainie which lay several miles to the west.
The 32 stone fragments probably represent the remains of ten cross-slabs, three free-standing crosses and at least eight panels from stone shrine chests. Some of the sculpture is unfinished showing that it was produced on-site at Kinneddar.
References
{{Pictish stones
Pictish stones