Huge pink granite Pictish stone moves into Scotland's oldest independent museum

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Between the 3rd and 9th centuries, Scotland was the place to go if you wanted to see artists working in stoneTry the 3D model of the Craigellachie Stone

The Picts loved to etch into huge boulders – the reasons still aren’t clear, although they could have been ancestral, religious or tribal.

Although new stone discoveries are rare, these days you can make a map of places where Pictish stones have been discovered.

The solid pink granite one found at Craigellachie – a tiny village near Aberdeen, with a naming meaning “rocky hill” – is unusual.

Given the Class I status offered to unworked stones with incised symbols, this 685kg, 1.7-metre giant is unusually decorated on two adjoining faces with the same orientation.

One side carries a large eagle with a crescent and V-rod below one face. The other bears a mirror case symbol, a notch rectangle and a Z-rod.

Andy Johnstone, the man who found the stone in 2013, cut the ribbon when it went on display at Scotland’s oldest independent museum, established in Elgin in 1842 and largely run by volunteers, last month.

Johnstone had been ploughing, and the landowner reported that he had “broken his plough” on “a rather large stone with some sort of carving on one side”.

It was conserved in a workshop in Leith and underwent laser scanning so that experts could create the 3D model. “Members of the public regularly contact us about artefacts they have found, but the reporting of the Dandaleith Stone was something truly unexpected, a real rarity,” says Claire Herbert, the Regional Archaeologist for Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service.

“I would like to thank the ploughman and landowner for reporting their find to us, and for their continued help and co-operation.

“To our knowledge, this is a truly unique find which has the potential to alter our understanding of Pictish Symbol Stones. We are privileged to be involved in the continued protection of such a wonderful object.”

• The stone is on display now. Open April-October 10am-5pm (11am-4pm Saturday, closed Sunday). Donate to the museum.

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Three museums to see Pictish stones in

Meffan Museum and Art Gallery, Forfar
A stunning collection of Pictish Stones are displayed to best advantage so both front and rear of these enigmatic sculptured stones can be closely examined. An interactive screen guides the visitor through every Pictish stone found in Angus. Models of two archaeologists are seen excavating a log canoe dated to the 11th century.

Kirriemuir Gateway to the Glens Museum, Angus
Eighteen finely carved early medieval stone sculptures have been found in Kirriemuir and are now part of local collections. The number of elaborately carved stones found here strongly suggests that Kirriemuir had a sophisticated Christian community in that period. Kirriemuir ‘1 - 17’ are displayed at the Meffan Museum, while Kirriemuir ‘18’ is on display at Kirriemuir.

Gairloch Heritage Museum, Achtercairn
This award-winning museum houses one of only two pictish stones found on the west coast mainland of Scotland.

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art551421-craigellachie-stone-pictish-museum-archaeology-elgin