Hilton of Cadboll Stone
Encyclopedia
Hilton of Cadboll
Hilton of Cadboll, or simply Hilton, is a village about southeast of Tain in Easter Ross, is in the Scottish council area of Highland It is famous for the Hilton of Cadboll Stone....
, on the Tarbat Peninsula in 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...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is one of the most magnificent of all Pict
PICT
PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw.The original version, PICT 1, was...
ish cross-slabs. On the seaward-facing side is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
, and on the landward facing side are secular depictions. The latter are carved below the Pictish symbols of crescent and V-rod and double disc and Z-rod
Double disc (Pictish symbol)
The double disc is a Pictish symbol of unknown meaning, that is frequently found on Class I and Class II Pictish stones, as well as on Pictish metalwork. The symbol can be found with and without an overlaid Z-rod , and in combinations of both .-Gallery:...
: a hunting scene including a woman wearing a large penannular brooch riding side-saddle. Like other similar stones, it can be dated between the 6th to 9th centuries.
The stone was formerly on in the vicinity of a chapel just north of the village. It was removed to Invergordon Castle in the 19th century, before being donated to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. The latter move was not popular with the Scottish public, and so it was moved once more, to the Museum of Scotland, where it remains today. A replica designed and carved by Barry Grove was recently erected on the site.
In 2001 the missing lower portion of the cross-slab, along with several thousand carved fragments, was recovered by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) during an excavation funded by Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
. Following some controversy around where this section of the monument should be curated it was finally put on display Hilton of Cadboll
Hilton of Cadboll
Hilton of Cadboll, or simply Hilton, is a village about southeast of Tain in Easter Ross, is in the Scottish council area of Highland It is famous for the Hilton of Cadboll Stone....
village hall rather than joining the upper portion at the Museum of Scotland. In parallel with the excavation, Historic Scotland also funded research carried out by Sian Jones of the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
into the significance of Early Medieval Sculpture to local communities which concentrated on the historical fragmentation and movement of the Hilton of Cadboll monument as well its modern role in the production of meaning, value and place The excavation and subsequent analysis of the 'biography' of the monument was the foundation of a major monograph published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body in Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum, Chambers Street, Edinburgh...
in 2008. The digital elements of the excavation archive were deposited with the Archaeology Data Service
Archaeology Data Service
The Archaeology Data Service is an open access digital archive for archaeological research outputs. It is located in the The King's Manor, at the University of York...
.