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Pictish Symbol Stone. This circa 2.7m high cross-slab of Old Red Sandstone stands in the grounds of the manse (NO34NE0079). Early writers - Gordon (1726), Pennant (1776) and Knox, describe it as being in the churchyard, but it is possible that the churchyard once extended into the manse garden. The slab may have been moved, however, a number of holes at its base possibly indicating some sort of levering instruments being fitted to it. Traditionally, it was erected to commemorate the assassination of King Malcolm. The stone tapers towards the top which is pedimented. One side is incised with a serpent, a fish, and a mirror symbol, while the other bears an elaborate cross, the side panels beyond it containing a centaur, a dog- like beast, a pair of men fighting with axes, a doe's head, a cauldron (from which a pair of legs protrude) supported on a bar by two ring-handles, and a triple disc symbol. The stone was originally Class I and re-used later in the Class II period.
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