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MHG7034 - Kebbuck Stone - Sunnyhillock

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NH85NW 5 8257 5556 and 8256 5557.
(NH82575556) Kebbuck Stone (Sculptured) OS 6" map (1959)

The "Kebbuck Stone" is a rough standing slab of grey Sandstone; greatest height 6 feet, extreme breadth 4 ft 2 inches; varying in thickness from 14 to 9 inches thickest and in ground, the Stone leans from the upright 9 inches northwards. The west of Inverness-shire face is smooth, having evidently been the bed of the Stone while yet it lay in its quarry; the artificial markings on this face consist of a circular figure 16¼ by 15½ inches, from which branch off a few lines apparently indicative of a rude Iona cross; only if so the lower half of the upright limb is now extremely effaced. The east or Nairn face is rough and dented, having on it a circle 11 inches in diameter with a cross scratched within it; to the Circle's right are various markings (one elliptic with various cuttings within it, another an obtuse angle with a hole at its lower end) having no apparent design, while to the left is a mason like mark: the circle together with the elliptic and angular figures may be ancient; but the mason like mark, the cuttings within the ellipse and the hole at the end of angle are most likely modern and the work of idle boys. There is no appearance of skilled labour about this Stone, all its markings whether ancient or modern having apparently been effected by repeated scratches with an iron point. The Kebbuck Stone stands on a little grassy hillock.

Various are the local traditions regarding the origin of this Stone. 1st That the Danes used it as a mooring post for their invading Galleys; the only fact in favour of this tradition is the close proximity of the old beach line of the Moray Firth; but so far as known to the Examiner this tradition has no support from written records. 2nd That a thief having stolen a cheese (date ancient but unknown) from Inverness Market, he was here overtaken, slain and buried, and this is his monumental Stone; with the effigy of his crime, the Kebbuck - anglice cheese - scratched upon it. Fullartons Gazatteer notices this tradition Vol [Volume] 1 Page 69 it is written ""Where this Parish ie. Ardersier is divided from Nairnshire, there is a stone about 6 ft [feet] high and 3 broad called the Cabbac Stone, which tradition says, was erected over a Chieftain who fell in an affray in the town of Inverness"" two points militate against this tradition 1st the Stone credits the thief with stealing two Cheeses and 2nd at present the locality ignores the Chieftain rank of the slain man, calling him simply a thief to whose memory it is most unlikely the locality would ever have taken the trouble to raise such a substantial monument. 3rd A local tradition makes this a covenant stone, and George Cuthbert read about 20 years ago in an old Gazetteer of Scotland, while Peter Mackenzie read recently in a small book which he has now managed to lose and is unable to remember its title, a legend somewhat as follows - In ancient times (perhaps the books supply the date) a burn ran in the slack to the west of the Kebback Stone, this steam formed the boundary between the Lairds of Delnies and Ardersier, but rainy seasons at times changed its course, which gave rise to bickerings as to the exact boundary, ending often in feud & bloodshed. On one day the antagonistic Lairds had mustered their tenants for battle when a 3rd Laird from the West Highlands named Cameron attended by a large following appeared on the scene; demanded to be made Mediator & settled the dispute, whereon ensued peace, sealed by a feast of bread, cheese & whisky, and crowned at its close by the heretofore antagonistic tenantry raising this stone as a token of perpetual peace between their feudal lords. The Circles on the stone commemorate the respective sizes of the Kebbucks furnished by each Laird to the feast, and testify to the liberality of Ardersier in so far as cheese was concerned."
OS Name Book OS1/22/6 p.23

The other day, while the workmen were engaged digging at the foundation of new kennels at the Kebbock Stone, near Delnies, they came upon a human skeleton. The grave had been cut out of the hard "barmy" gravel at . a depth of about two and a half feet from the surface, and a number of stones, about a foot square, appear to have been placed over the body, forming an arch. At the foot of the grave a few small stones had been placed on edge, closing it in. The skeleton appeared to be that of a man over six feet. The teeth in the skull were perfectly preserved, not a tooth being awanting either in the upper or lower jaw. The direction of the grave was east and west, the head being at the western extremity. The grave contained no articles or fragments of any kind. The special interest in the discovery of the skeleton is that the grave is within a few yards of the " Kebbock Stone," figured in Stuart's " Sculptured Stones." The following reference to the Kebbock Stone in the " History of Nairnshire," may be quoted :—" It stands on the bank above the Carse of Delnies, and an idle legend has given it the name of the Keb-bock Stone. The story is that two chiefs and their clans fought a great battle there for the possession of a kebbock of cheese. Hence the name Kebbock Stone. A heap of stones, prob• ably the ruins of an oratory, lay beside the pillar, but have been removed. The slab is very much wasted from the effects of weathering and ill-usage, but the faint outline of a Celtic cross can still be traced on one side of it. It is a cross of the earliest form—incised and un-decorated—and it would have been a most interesting memorial of early Christian times had it been better preserved.— Daily Scotsman. <1>

The farm of Wester Delnies is situated 4 miles W. of Nairn, to the N. of the road to Campbelltown, between it and the shore of the Moray Firth (Inch Ordnance Map, Sheet 84).

The monument, which is known locally as the Kebach Stone, stands on Wester Delnies farm behind the gamekeeper’s house, a few hundred yards to the N. of the road from Nairn to Campbelltown, just beyond the toll-house.

It is an upright cross-slab of grey sandstone, of rectangular shape, 5 feet 6 inches high by 4 feet 2 inches wide by 1 foot 1 inch thick, sculptured in relief on one face thus —

Front. — In the middle of the slab is a cross with semicircular hollows between the arms and a circle in the centre (shape No. 101a). The whole face appears to have been ornamented, but all that now remains are traces of interlaced-work on the arms. The Stafford knot can be made out in places and not much besides.

This stone is not mentioned in Stuart’s Sculptured Stones of Scotland or elsewhere. Attention was first called to its existence by the Rev. Dr Joass of Golspie. The monument belongs to the highly ornamented class of which other specimens are found along the opposite shores of the Moray Firth at Rosemarkie, Nigg, Shandwick, Hilton of Cadboll, and Tarbat. Unfortunately, the Delnies cross-slab is of a softer material than the rest and has also possibly been longer exposed than some of them. It bears evidence of the effects of weather in the deep furrows in the top, like those to be seen on the Devil’s Arrows at Boroughbridge in Yorkshire. The work of destruction carried on for centuries by the elements of nature has been completed by the vandalism of man. The whole of the back of the stone, which was probably sculptured as well as the front, is deeply scored with hollows made by sharpening knives, and a circle has been incised in the middle of it by some mischievous person. The state of the Delnies stone is an everlasting reproach to a generation endowed with so little respect for the memory of the missionaries who Christianised Scotland as to allow the only traces now left of their handiwork to be so shamefully abused.

A stone-lined grave, oriented, and containing an adult skeleton placed with the feet to the east, was found within a few yards of the stone in March 1896. <2>

The 'Kebbuck Stone' (confirmed) is as described, although 'carved figures' are no longer visible. The kennels have been replaced by a modern wooden building. No trace of the grave was found.
Visited by OS (N K B) 22 November 1965.

The stone was scheduled by Historic Scotland in 2001.

This site was visited by AOC Archaeology Group in June 2007. The stone remains upright with some weathering visible at the top and a small amount of lichen growing on the surface. It is set in a residential garden. <3>

Kebbuck Stone (Kebach Stone), Wester Delnies, Nairn, cross-slab
Measurements: H 1.68m above ground, W 1.27m, D 0.33m
Stone type: grey sandstone
Place of discovery: NH 82577 55553
Present location: at NH 8257 5556
Evidence for discovery: the stone appears to have been moved from a position in a field as marked on the 1st edition six-inch map, perhaps in 1896 when the kennels were built and a long cist grave was found.
Present condition: extremely weathered and with signs of misuse, eg knife sharpening and an incised circle on the back of the slab. The top is damaged by water erosion.
Description:
This massive cross-slab must once have looked very impressive, carved in relief on both broad faces, but sadly little can now be made out. The better preserved face shows a large cross with circular armpits, interlace-filled arms and an interlace-filled roundel at the centre of the cross-head. The background to the cross was also filled with ornament, best seen now in the top right-hand area of the stone. The back of the stone is severely defaced.
Date: eighth or ninth century.
References: ECMS pt 3, 117-18.
Early Medieval Carved Stones Project, A Ritchie 2018

The stone was recorded by photogrammetry by A Hickie at the request of L Morrison of Petty and Ardersier Community Heritage in 2019 which appear to have revealed previously undocumented carvings on the very weathered east face. <4>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 8258 5556 (10m by 10m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH85NW
Civil Parish	CROY AND DALCROSS
Geographical Area	NAIRN

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