Edderton Cross Slab is a Class III Pictish stone standing in the old graveyard

Graveyard

A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...

 of the village of Edderton

Edderton

Edderton is a village near Tain, lying on the shores of the Dornoch Firth, Easter Ross. It has approximately 388 inhabitants. It is the location of the Balblair Distillery, and of the Class III Pictish stone, the Edderton Cross Slab, which lies in the old churchyard of the village...

, Easter Ross

Easter Ross

Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...

. The stone is of red sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

. On the western side there is an undecorated but elegant celtic cross

Celtic cross

A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...

, the circles within its rings emphasised by being left in relief. On the eastern side there is another cross on the upper half, standing on a semi-circular base or arch, within which is a horseman in relief, with two further riders incised below. The slab was formerly sunk considerably deeper in the earth, concealing the lower two horsemen, but has recently been raised to its presumed original height (notice the lack of lichen on the lower half in the accompanying photograph).

This monument should not be confused with the Edderton Symbol Stone, or Clach Biorach

Clach Biorach

The Clach Biorach is a three-metre Standing Stone located a 1/4 mile north-west of the village of Edderton in Easter Ross. It dates to the Bronze Age, but two Pictish-style symbols were later engraved on the north side, making it a Class I Pictish symbol stone...

 ("pointed stone"), a red sandstone pillar of Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 origin with Pictish symbols incised on it, which stands in a field near the village of Edderton a little to the west.

Further fragments of early medieval cross-slabs, in poor condition, from Edderton churchyard, are preserved in Tain

Tain

Tain is a royal burgh and post town in the committee area of Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland.-Etymology:...

 Museum.

See also

• Celtic art