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A Class I Symbol Stone, consisting of a large grey granite boulder incised with a standing figure of a warrior, was ploughed up on Barflat Farm in March 1978. The carving shows a man wearing a knee-length, sleeved, tunic with a belt around his waist and pointed shoes. He carries a battle axe or pole axe over his shoulder, with the hands and face showing further detail. The stone represents a rare example of a small series of Pictish stones depicting figures, and probably dates to the 6th or 7th centuries AD. The stone most likely stood as part of the ditched and palisaded enclosure which dates to the same period in the field (see NJ42NE0047). After its discovery the stone lay behind one of the steadings at Barflat Farm for several years while negotiations carried on between the National Museum, the Crown Agent and the landowner. This eventually led to the stone being awarded to Grampian Regional Council in 1987 and it going on public display in Woodhill House, Aberdeen. (Woodhill House is now the headquarters for Aberdeenshire Council).
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