Aberlemno Sculptured Stones
Memorials & Monuments;Architectural Features;Historic Sites

Aberlemno
By Forfar

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There are three roadside stones, two of which bear symbols only, the better one with fine snake, double-disc and z-rod, mirror and comb symbols. The third stone is a Pictish cross slab with a ring cross on the front and a particularly good hunting scene on the back. Above are the Crescent and V-rod and double-disc symbols and below a Centaur and David and his emblems.

The cross slab in the Kirkyard, one of the finest Dark Age sculptures in Europe, stands on the west side of the church. The front has an impressive quadrilobate cross and the beautiful decoration is heavily inspired by Northumbrian art of the late 7^th/ early 8^th centuries. The reverse has a magnificent battle scene which is thought to portray the battle of Dun Nechtan or Nechtansmere of 685 AD when Brude MacDerile defeated the Northumbrian King Ecgfrith and his army. The slab ably depicts Pictish and Northumbrian cavalry, Pictish infantry and a dying Northumbrian being pecked by a Raven.

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