Kintore

Kintore 2, Aberdeenshire, Pictish symbol stone

Measurements: H 1.52m, W 0.91m, D 0.23m

Stone type: red granite

Place of discovery: NJ 7939 1634

Present location: National Museums Scotland (X.IB.22)

Evidence for discovery: discovered when a motte was demolished to enable the construction of the railway in 1854, and purchased by NMAS in 1865. At some stage, presumably when the motte was built, a square was cut from one corner of the slab.

Present condition: broken into two when found, the fragments are joined together and the missing corner has been restored. The carving is worn and incomplete.

Description

This slab exhibits two periods of use as a Pictish symbol stone, because the symbols on one side are upside down in relation to those on the other. On one side a Pictish beast facing left is incised above a double disc and Z-rod, while on the other a mirror with a double-ball handle is incised above a Pictish beast facing right.

Date: seventh century.

References: ECMS pt 3, 171-4; Fraser 2008, no 30.1.

Desk-based information compiled by A Ritchie 2017

NJ71NE 32.01 7939 1634

No. 2. On Castle Hill there was found a red granite slab cracked across the middle. It measures 1.5m x 0.9m x 0.02m and incised with symbols front and back. On the front the elephant, double-disc and Z-rod symbols. On the back, the mirror and elephant symbols, the elephant in reverse from the front. Bought by National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS) in 1865 (Accession no. IB 22).

J R Allen and J Anderson 1903; NMAS 1892; J Stuart 1856; Information from R Jones 1980.