Friday 3rd August
Ross
and Cromarty
Edderton
Standing Stone/Pictish Carving
NH 708 851
On the road to Tain from Bonar Bridge, the A836, you come to the village of Edderton. At the crossroads turn left and the stone will be seen in a field after the houses. It is a tall sandstone pillar, over 3m high, and has Pictish symbols on it which include a fish, a double disc and a “Z” shape. It is known as Clach Biorach or Pointed Stone. When we got there a farmer was in the field working so we had to photograph it from the lane.
A little beyond the town is the old churchyard at Edderton where there is an old Pictish carved stone with a cross on it. This is from the later period when Picts were converted to Christianity between 600 and 800AD. Their earlier carvings, such as on the standing stone, from the 6th and 7th centuries were geometric and animal symbols.