Rare Pictish carved stone comes home to be displayed in Angus village

The discovery of a stone slabbed floor of a large building, dating from the 11th or 12th century, led to a small project team comprising Aberlemno Village Hall, ANGUSalive, Aberdeen University and the Pictish Arts Society to be formed.

The excavation, led by Professor Gordon Noble from Aberdeen University, revealed an entrance with an elaborate threshold incorporating several flag stones, of which three were carved - one with cup-marks, another with a faint spiral and the third was a Pictish symbol stone with seven different symbols.

The stones’ location, clustered around the entrance, suggested that reusing these ancient carvings was a deliberate element of the design.

Through the Treasure Trove system, the assemblage was allocated to ANGUSalive to be cared for. A grant application to Angus Council secured the necessary funding to display the symbol stone in Aberlemno Village Hall, with installation due later this year.

This project - “Bringing History Home - and to the World”, received £32,000 from the UK Government through the Community Asset Capital Grant. The grant was awarded by the council’s Policy and Resources Executive Sub-Committee from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Communities and Place Priority Funding Scheme.

The funding has allowed modifications to the village hall’s entrance and provides an opportunity to improve visitor facilities.

Isabelle Davies, of Aberlemno Village Hall Committee, said: “After a lot of hard work we are now awaiting the installation of the magnificent monument in its new home. We hope that visitors enjoy this exciting and important piece of history which has been uncovered and will now be on display at Aberlemno Village Hall.”

Emma Gilliland, ANGUSalive museums & galleries collections lead, added: “It is exciting to see this project come to fruition. We’re delighted to add this significant Pictish stone to the Angus Collections and through a loan agreement it will be on display at its home in Aberlemno which is a well-known site of a Pictish settlement.”