The Dupplin Cross is a carved, monumental

Pictish stone 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 ...

, which dates from around 800 AD. It was first recorded by

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 1769, on a hillside in

Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (, from gd, Srath Èireann) is the strath of the River Earn, in Scotland, extending from Loch Earn in the West to the River Tay in the east.http://www.strathearn.com/st_where.htm Derivation of name Strathearn was one ...

, a little to the north of (and on the opposite bank of the

River Earn , name_etymology = , image = River Earn at Forteviot.jpg , image_size = 250px , image_caption = The River Earn viewed from Forteviot bridge. , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

from)

Forteviot Forteviot ( gd, Fothair Tabhaicht) (Ordnance Survey ) is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The population in 1991 was 160. The pres ...

and Dunning. In 2002 it was placed in the care of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

, and was placed for preservation under the 11th/12th-century tower of

St Serf's Church, Dunning __NOTOC__ St Serf's Church in the Scottish village of Dunning, Perth and Kinross is a Category A listed building largely dating to the early 19th century, but incorporating a 12th-century tower. History The church dates to the 12th century, and ...

. The Dupplin Cross is a

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

, that is a free-standing stone cross. While relatively common in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

and in

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now ...

, such crosses are rare survivals in the lands of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

, though fragments of shattered crosses (probably cast down during the 16th-century

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

) show that a number once existed. In the 18th century a second cross, the

Cross of Dronachy A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, was recorded as having stood on the lands of Invermay, south of Forteviot and also overlooking Forteviot, but having fallen and broken. The cross base survives ''in situ'', but the records do not provide details of its exact form. The cross is carved from

Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...

, the cross stands about 2.5 metres tall, 1 metre broad over the arms of the cross. It is carved with various scenes, religious, martial and traditional Pictish animal carvings. The cross contains a partially legible inscription, of which only the name ''CUSTANTIN FILIUS FIRCUS'' can be read. This name is taken as the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

form of the early 9th-century Pictish king's Gaelic name Caustantín son of Fergus (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

793–820). Since the inscription implies that the cross was carved either during, or shortly after, the reign of Caustantín, it is particularly important as giving a fixed point in the chronology of Pictish sculpture. It also indicates that Gaelic was spoken at the time as it uses the Gaelic personal name of his father in Latin. The Rider, Dupplin Cross

Other carved themes on the cross include a rider with an oversized head and ponytail showing him to be a man of authority. On the obverse a man fights bears with his bare hands. The sides include a man (probably

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

) playing a harp, and hunting dogs.

References

External links

CISP database entryCeltic Inscribed Stones Project

Historic Scotland
{{coord, 56, 18, 45, N, 3, 35, 14, W, region:GB_type:landmark_source:kolossus-nlwiki, display=title Archaeological sites in Perth and Kinross High crosses in Scotland Historic Environment Scotland properties Culture of medieval Scotland Pictish stones Monumental crosses in Scotland 9th century in Scotland 9th-century sculptures Buildings and structures completed in the 9th century