Edderton Cross Slab is a Class III

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 ...

standing in the old

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

of the village of

Edderton Edderton ( gd, Eadardan) is a village near Tain, lying on the shores of the Dornoch Firth, Easter Ross and is in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has approximately 388 inhabitants. It is the location of the Balblair Distillery, and of t ...

Easter Ross Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland. The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituenc ...

. The stone is of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. On the western side there is an undecorated but elegant

celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

, the circles within its rings emphasised by being left in relief. On the eastern side there is another cross on the upper half, standing on a semi-circular base or arch, within which is a horseman in relief, with two further riders incised below. The slab was formerly sunk considerably deeper in the earth, concealing the lower two horsemen, but has recently been raised to its presumed original height (notice the lack of lichen on the lower half in the accompanying photograph). This monument should not be confused with the Edderton Symbol Stone, or

Clach Biorach Clach Chairidh, alternatively named Clach Biorach (from Scots Gaelic, meaning 'the Pointed Stone'), is a Class I Pictish stones, Pictish stone located in a field near the village of Edderton in Easter Ross. The standing stone was probably erected ...

("Pointed Stone"), a red sandstone pillar of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

origin with Pictish symbols incised on it, which stands in a field near the village of Edderton a little to the west. Further fragments of early medieval cross-slabs, in poor condition, from Edderton churchyard, are preserved in

Tain Tain ( Gaelic: ''Baile Dhubhthaich'') is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland. Etymology The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The ...

Museum.

References

* MacNamara, Ellen, ''The Pictish Stones of Easter Ross'', (Tain, 2003) {{coord, 57, 50, 1, N, 4, 10, 24, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Pictish stones in Highland (council area) High crosses in Scotland Pictish stones Monumental crosses in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Highland

See also

References