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Edderton Description of stone
Event ID 1017539
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Early Medieval Carved Stones Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1017539
Edderton 2, Ross & Cromarty, cross-slab
Measurements: H 1.91m, W 0.69m, D 0.20m
Stone type: red sandstone
Place of discovery: NH 7190 8420
Present location: in situ in Edderton churchyard.
Evidence for discovery: first recorded in the churchyard at Edderton around 1830 by James Skene.
Present condition: the top right corner (face A) is missing, and the slab is very weathered.
Description
This rectangular slab is carved in relief and incision on face A and in relief alone on face C. There is a cross on both faces but they are of different types and sizes, linked only by the fact that each is an equal-armed cross separated by a bar from its shaft. On face A, there is a relatively small cross with squared terminals and stepped armpits, outlined by roll moulding, its shaft is set on an enlarged arched base, also outlined by roll moulding, which contains an unarmed figure on a horse, trotting to the left. Beneath an incised line are two horsemen, also riding to the left, each armed with spear, sword and circular shield.
The cross on face C occupies the breadth and almost the length of the slab and is a ringed cross, outlined by roll moulding. The arms have squared terminals and the widely rounded armpits form circles, echoing the central roundel. Like the cross on face A there is no internal ornament.
Date: ninth or tenth century.
References: Skene 1832, 51; ECMS pt 3, 83-4.
Compiled by A Ritchie 2017
