MHG5726 - Cross slab - north of Raasay House, Raasay
Summary
A Pictish cross slab located (but not in its original position) to the north of Raasay House, Raasay.
Type and Period (1)
- CROSS SLAB (Pictish to Early Medieval - 300 AD to 1057 AD)
Protected Status
Full Description
On OS 6" Map, Inverness 1904.
NG53NW 3.00 5467 3677
NG53NW 3.01 NG 546 368 Gate
(NG 5467 3677) Standing Stone (Sculptured) (NAT)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1904)
On the summit of a rockery some 15' from the E side of the road 200 yards NNW of Raasay House is a dressed slab of native grey granite 4' 8" long, 1' 9" broad and 6" thick, bearing on the upper part of one face a Chi-Rho Cross set in a square, with the Pictish symbols a tuning-fork and crescent with divergent floriated rod below (RCAHMS 1928). The stone, which is not in situ, is said to have been found when the road from the pier to Raasay House was made, about 100 yards from the rock bearing a a similarly incised Chi-Rho cross (PSAS 1907). (NG53NW 2) Shown on a distribution map and dated to the second half of the 7th century on the evidence of the cross by Curle (1940), but see Radford (1942) and Stevenson (1955) who criticise this paper.
RCAHMS 1928; Proc Soc Antiq Scot 1907; C L Curle 1940; C R Radford 1942; R B K Stevenson 1955; J J Galbraith 1933.
A symbol stone as described above.
Visited by OS (A S P) 12 June 1961.
Class II symbol stone bearing a cross with underneath a tuning fork over a crescent and V-rod.
A.Mack 1997 p.113
The stone was recorded by members of ACFA in 2005 during their ongoing survey of the archaeological and historic monuments on Raasay. <1>
This cross slab with Pictish symbols and the cross-incised stone found nearby (MHG5725) exemplify the earliest phase of the interface between cross and symbol (Henderson & Henderson 2006, 174).
Currently (2008) at the entrance to a conifer plantation some 190m NNW of Raasay House (Fraser 2008).
Add to bibliography:
Henderson, George and Isabel 2006. The Art of the Picts: Sculpture and Metalwork in Early Medieval Scotland, 174.
Fraser, Iain 2008. The Pictish Symbol Stones of Scotland, no. 133. <2>
The NMS catalogue lists a cast of a cross-slab from near Raasay House. Acc. No. IB 223. <2>
Raasay 1, Skye & Lochalsh, Pictish cross-slab
Measurements: H 1.24m, W 0.56m, D 0.18m
Stone type: granite
Place of discovery: NG 5467 3677
Present location: in a Forestry Commission plantation east of the road to Oscaig, 190m NNW of Raasay House.
Evidence for discovery: found in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century prior to 1824, during the construction of the road from the pier to Raasay House. It was erected in a modern base on a stony mound in its present position.
Present condition: some flaking has occurred and the right-hand edge has been damaged, but most of the carving is intact.
Description:
This rectangular slab has been dressed with a slightly rounded top and is incised on one broad face with a cross above two Pictish symbols, apparently contemporary. The cross-head consists of a cross-of-arcs within a square frame, with a very clear chi-rho scroll attached to the right-hand side of the upper arm. The deeply incised wedge-shaped arms are emphasised by an inner incised line, and the centre is marked by a raised circle around a pit. The shaft is outlined by an incised line and is cusped. Beneath the foot of the shaft is a horizontal tuning-fork symbol and below it a decorated crescent and V-rod.
Date range: seventh century.
Primary references: Richardson 1907, 435-6; Fisher 2001, 103; Henderson & Henderson 2004, 174; Fraser 2008, no 133.
Early Medieval Carved Stones Project, A Ritchie 2016
Sources/Archives (19)
- --- SHG1260 Text/Publication/Article: Richardson, J S. 1907. Notice of kitchen-midden deposits on North Berwick Law, and other antiquities in the vicinity of North Berwick; with a note of an undescribed sculptured stone, with symbols, in the island of Raasay. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Vol.41. 424-36. 435-6; figs. 10-11.
- --- SHG1636 Text/Publication/Article: Galbraith, J J. 1933. 'The Chi-Rho Crosses on Raasay: their importance and chronological relationships', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 67 1932-3, p.318-20. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 318-20. 318-20.
- --- SHG1637 Text/Publication/Article: Curle, C L. 1940. 'The chronology of the early christian monuments of Scotland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 74 1939-40, p.60-117. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 60-117. 60-117.
- --- SHG1653 Text/Publication/Article: Radford, C A R. 1942. 'The early christian monuments of Scotland', Antiquity Vol. 16 1942, p.1-18. Antiquity. 1-18. 1-18.
- --- SHG1659 Text/Publication/Article: McRoberts, D. 1963. 'The ecclesiastical significance of the St Ninian's Isle treasure', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 94 1960-1, p.301-14. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 301-14. 309-10; pl. xxvii.
- --- SHG2187 Text/Publication/Volume: Feachem, R W. 1963. A Guide to Prehistoric Scotland. 1st. 149-50.
- --- SHG22748 Text/Publication/Volume: Fisher, I.. 2001. Early Medieval Sculpture in the West Highlands and Islands. Paper (Original). pp. 103.
- --- SHG23282 Interactive Resource/Online Database: Historic Environment Scotland. Canmore. 11475.
- --- SHG2357 Text/Publication/Volume: Jackson, A. 1984. The symbol stones of Scotland: a social anthropological resolution to the problem of the Picts.
- --- SHG2456 Text/Publication/Volume: Mack, A. 1997. Field guide to the Pictish symbol stones. 141.
- --- SHG2472 Text/Publication/Volume: MacKie, E W. 1975. Scotland: an archaeological guide: from the earliest times to the twelfth century. 221.
- --- SHG25965 Text/Publication: Fraser, I (ed). 2008. The Pictish Symbol Stones of Scotland. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. No. 133.
- --- SHG2664 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1911. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Third report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Caithness. . 18, No. 46.
- --- SHG2712 Text/Publication/Volume: Ritchie, J N G. 1985. Pictish symbol stones: a handlist 1985. 14.
- --- SHG3185 Text/Publication/Article: Stevenson, R B K. 1955. Pictish art. SHG2904. 97-128. 97-128.
- --- SHG7041 Image/Photograph(s): PSS. Class II, Clachan, Raasay. Digital Image. .
- <1> SHG22482 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Wood, J.S. and Macdonald, J. (eds). 2005. An Archaeological Survey of St Moluag's Chapel, Pictish Stones and Monuments of The Isle of Raasay, Portree Parish, Highland Council. Association of Certificated Field Archaeologists (ACFA). 06/11/2006. Paper (Original). pp.28-9.
- <2> SHG25668 Collection/Project Archive: Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH). 2012. Digital site gazetteer and archive for ARCH Community Timeline Project: Broadford. Yes. Digital. Site 46.
- <3> SHG28278 Dataset/Database File: National Museums Scotland. 2019. Highland Finds from the NMS Catalogue. National Museums Scotland. Digital. IB 223.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NG 5466 3675 (6m by 6m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NG53NW |
| Geographical Area | SKYE AND LOCHALSH |
| Civil Parish | PORTREE |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (1)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM2590 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/11475 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
Comments and Feedback
Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible.