Location
Behind the garage at the Port Elphinstone junction on the A96 at Inverurie. If going north turn right immediately after the garage if south left before.
Port Elphinstone, Inverurie
OS Map Reference
NJ 779 197
Description
A class I Pictish Symbol stone located in the remains of a class II henge monument (a henge is defined by having a bank and ditch class II henges are those with two opposed entrances). The symbol stone was originally located on a bank 50 yards to the north-east and was moved when this bank was utilised as ballast during the construction of the adjacent railway line. It was probably a Pictish reuse of one of the megaliths that formed the avenue and the other stone circle mentioned below. It bears a 'Pictish Beast' symbol over a crescent and V rod.
Related Information
The henge monument of Broomend of Crichie, on the river Don in Aberdeenshire, was first excavated 150 years ago. This henge earthwork was found to contain a number of urned cremations and a stone circle, being joined to another stone circle by an avenue. 2005 saw the start of a new project to re-examine the henge undertaken by Professor Richard Bradley and Amanda Clarke. The project aims to work out a structural sequence and chronology for the monument and relate it other Scottish excavations. It is also the first stage of a project to characterise the northern henges, following on from Professor Bradley's work on the Clava Cairns and Scottish Recumbent Stone Circles. From http://www.shes.reading.ac.uk/shesresearch/Archaeology/Prehistoric/Broomend.htm PDF reports on the recent excavations are available from the Reading university web site.
Era
Various
Categories
Iconography
- pictish symbols
External Links
Photographer
- Michael Watt
Unavailable Data
- Date
- Information Source
- Related Artefacts
- Creator
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