Field Visit

Date 21 September 1910

Event ID 926561

Category Recording

Type Field Visit

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/926561

In the museum at Thurso is a cross roughly hewn out of a slab of Caithness flagstone bearing on its shaft an inscription in Scandinavian runes. It was found when some old buildings were taken down near the E. end of St Peter's Church, Thurso, in 1896. At a depth of some 5' from ordinary level were found in the course of excavation two cists containing human skeletons. On the top of the larger cist, which contained the remains of an adult buried in a contracted position, lay the cross slab. Its whole length is 2' 9". The shaft measures 2' 1 1/2" in length by 61/4 in breadth at the lower end, tapering slightly to 5 3/4" at the intersection of the arms. The cross head measures 8" across, the projection of the arms being less than 2", and their vertical width at the ends 4 3/4". The summit is partially broken away, so that it only rises 1 1/2" above the arms and shows a breadth of 4 3/4". The thickness of the slab throughout is 1 1/2".

The inscription, which is somewhat irregularly cut along one side of the obverse in letters varying from 3" to 4" in height, reads from the base upwards (the lower part of the shaft containing its commencement is awanting), and has been interpreted

-(GE)RTHI UBIRLAK THITA AFT IKLULB FOTHUR SIN

- made overlay this after Ingulf father his

Visited by RCAHMS, 21 September 1910.