Description

The monument is a Pictish cross slab dating probably to between about AD 700 and 1000. The stone stands 2.76m high and is 1.5m across by 0.24m thick, and is decorated on both faces with a variety of carvings, partly in shallow relief and partly with incised lines. The stone stands in the garden of 10 Kirkwynd, formerly Glamis Manse, about 30m W of the present church and 80m above sea level.

The monument comprises a large upright slab of red sandstone, approximately rectangular in shape but tapering upwards with a pediment at the top. The decorated faces of the slab face approximately E and W. The W face bears a cross carved in shallow relief with double hollow armpits. It is decorated with interlace, with the interlace on the cross arms and immediately above the roundel formed from long animals. There is a pair of beast heads above the cross on the pediment, and elsewhere the cross is flanked by a lion-like animal, a centaur carrying axes in each hand, a cauldron with protruding human legs, a pair of bearded figures with axes, and a deer head symbol with triple disc beneath. The E face is undressed and bears three incised Pictish symbols: a serpent, a fish, and an incomplete 'mirror' symbol.

The scheduled area is circular on plan, measuring 5m in diameter, centred on the stone, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The monument was last scheduled in 1935, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present amendment rectifies this.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to make a significant addition to our knowledge of the past, particularly our appreciation and understanding of early medieval sculpture and the development of Christianity. It has the potential to further our understanding of how such stone carvings were made, their functions, and their role in contemporary religious practices. This cross slab is very large and impressive and survives to a marked degree, with its decorative carvings in excellent condition and clearly visible on both main faces. There is high potential for comparative study both with other examples of Pictish carved stones, and with stones from Iona and western Scotland, Wales and Ireland. There is the potential to study the location and form of this cross with others across Angus, and to study its relationship with broadly contemporary places of worship to better understand the origins, development and organisation of the early church in Scotland. The loss of this monument would impede our ability to understand Pictish sculpture, stone carvings and the early Christian church, both in Angus and Scotland as a whole.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Other Information

RCAHMS record the monument as NO34NE 2. The Angus Sites and Monuments Record reference is NO34NE0002.

References

Allen and Anderson, J R and J, 1903 The early Christian monuments of Scotland: a classified illustrated descriptive list of the monuments with an analysis of their symbolism and ornamentation, Edinburgh, part 3, 221-3.

Laing, L, 2001 'The date and context of the Glamis, Angus, carved Pictish stones', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 131, 223-39.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/32067/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland