Aberlemo 2 Description of stone
Event ID 1033623
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Early Medieval Carved Stones Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1033623
Aberlemno 2, Angus, Pictish cross-slab
Measurements: H 2.29m above ground, W 1.27m tapering upwards to 0.90m, D 0.20m
Stone type: sandstone
Place of discovery: NO 52239 55554
Present location: in situ in the churchyard at Aberlemno.
Evidence for discovery: first recorded in 1726 by Alexander Gordon.
Present condition: some wear but reasonably good overall. At some period prior to the late nineteenth century a hole has been drilled through the top right armpit of the cross on face A. In 1898 the stone was raised in situ to expose more of the base, and no socket stone was found.
Description
This majestic slab is carved on both broad faces in relief with incised details, the panel on face C stopping well short of the carving on face A. Although unornamented, the narrow faces are carefully dressed and the top rises into a pediment. Face A bears a ringed cross which spans the length and breadth of the slab and is outlined by roll mouldings. At the centre of the cross-head is a circle, outlined by roll moulding, which contains seven interlinked triple spirals. The side-arms contain diagonal key pattern, while the upper and lower arms are filled with interlace forming cruciform designs. The shaft below contains three roundels interlinked by the dense interlace that fills them. The background to the cross is filled with animals seen in profile. Either side of the upper arm of the cross is an animal with its head turned back and away from the cross, that on the left with a serpent’s body grasped in its jaws. To the left of the shaft there are three quadrupeds and a serpent biting one another, ingeniously designed to form four spirals, one above the other. On the right of the shaft is a double spiral knot composed of two creatures with elongated beaks, and below are two elegant sea-horses confronted in a figure of eight, protecting a triquetra knot between their lower fins.
Face C is bordered by a flat-band moulding, which turns into two gaping animal masks at the apex. The enclosed panel is divided into two by a horizontal roll moulding. The smaller top panel contains a notched rectangle with Z-rod symbol, ornamented with double spirals, to the right of which a triple disc symbol extends into the panel below. This larger panel tells the story of a battle in three registers. First a horseman with long hair and a sword raised in his right hand chases a helmeted warrior who has abandoned his sword and circular shield but is still grasping a spear in his left hand, fleeing to the right. Below three long-haired warriors armed with swords, shields and spears face an oncoming horseman with raised spear and shield hanging on his left side. At the foot of the panel, two horse-borne warriors face one another with raised spears and shields at the ready. Tucked into the bottom right corner is a large helmeted figure lying beside his shield, about to be pecked by a large bird. This evocative panel has been analysed by several authors, most fully in Cruickshank 1991 and Fraser 2002.
Date range: early eighth century.
Primary references: Gordon 1726, pl 53; ECMS pt 3, 209-14; Cruickshank 1991; Fraser, J E 2002; Fraser 2008, no 51.2.
Desk-bsed information compiled by A Ritchie 2018
