The Aberlemno Sculptured Stones are a series of Pictish standing stones originating in and around the village of Aberlemno, Angus, Scotland. Three are located in the village and a fourth, found in 1962, is on display in The McManus in Dundee. They date from the Early Medieval period.
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Aberlemno 1: The Serpent Stone, is a Class I Pictish symbol stone aged around 300-600 (pre Christianity in Scotland). The Serpent Stone is decorated with a Serpent, Double Disc and Z-Rod, and Mirror with Comb. On the back of the Serpent Stone are cup marks from Neolithic times, the stone was reused by the Picts, making the Serpent Stone around 4,000 years old, and the symbols 1,400 years old.
Aberlemno 2: The Crescent Stone, is a Class I Pictish symbol stone aged around 300-600 (pre Christianity in Scotland). The Crescent stone has faint markings of Crescent shapes, possibly the Crescent Moon or Mirrors.
Aberlemno 3: The Roadside Cross, is a Class II Pictish symbol stone aged around 600-843 (after Christianity was introduced in Scotland). The Roadside Cross is decorated with an elaborate Celtic Cross adorning one side, angels, deer and Celtic Knots, and on the other features a Double-Disc and Z-Rod, Crescent Moon with V-Rod, a ceremonial hunting scene, and a centaur gathering medical plants.
Aberlemno 5; The Churchyard Cross, is a Class II Pictish symbol stone aged around 600-843 (after Christianity was introduced in Scotland). Aberlemno 5 has a celtic cross design on one side, and on the other features a war scene believed to be the battle of Dún Nechtain led by King Bridei III on the...
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If you don't know what these are you won't find them interesting but telling people not to bother only shows your lack of knowledge. Please, read about Picts and their stones! These are stones carved by the ancestral people of the Scots back in the 6th to 9th centuries. If that doesn't impress you, think harder. It's the year 500. What type of tools could you use to carve a piece of stone so intricately? What story are you going to tell? Even more fascinating - other Pictish stones show signs of being painted! I took a star off because there is no warning they are coming up on the side of the road, they are easy to miss and it's difficult to turn around on these narrow roads. Although parking is marked it is confusing. Also, please note two of the stones are on the side of the main road. They make for a dangerous walk for children of any age and the elderly. I saw a sign that stated a printed guide to the stones was for sale in the small building but I didn't query. Perhaps better organization would...
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Aberlemno stone is NOT a "pictish" stone, but a Kellydd, hence Caledonia in Latin, stele, Alas half destroyed, you ought to compare to Hilton stele. The theme of that stele is the typical Kellydd theme: the Thunder-Father, symbolized by its lightning, sends his two twins and fireballs to the search after their sister "Helene" in Greece, which has been raped by a sad guy, equivalent to the God of Underground, and Helene is coming home due to her rescue by her brothers, in the form of a comb and mirror, coming out of the ground. You will find later those two symbols in Melusine. This scene is the VERY identity of "Picts", you can find it on many stones. It is a pity a rascal cut it in half for his own use. GT
And some more pics from Graeme Davidson and G-Street, where you can see the famous Kelt Cross with its two horses, of apotropaic significance. A very...
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