Introduction

This evening, I am posting information on Meigle Sculptured Stones. These comprise a unique collection of thirty-three elaborately carved stones from the first millennium. The collection is housed in a disused church at Meigle in Perthshire, central Scotland. This location is about seventy miles north of Edinburgh.

Information on the Meigle Carved Stones

The carvings date from the Pictish era. These peoples preceded the Scots and occupied Scotland to the north of the Forth and Clyde estuaries. They spoke a Brittonic language (related to modern-day Welsh). Meigle is derived from mig dol which has Brittonic origins and means ‘water meadow’.

The Picts were first recorded by the Romans in AD 297 as Pictii or ‘painted people’ because of their body decorations. Our knowledge of the Picts is scant because they appear not to have used a written language

However, they have left a legacy in the form of sculptured stone monuments. The carvings indicate a high level of artistic skills. They combine distinctive abstract symbols with more recognisable carved images representing animals, fish and birds. The abstract symbols are classified today as crescent and V-rod, double disc and Z-rod although interpretation remains elusive.

The earliest stones date from the 6th century with Christian iconography becoming prominent from the 8th and 9th centuries.

Meigle must have been an important power base and/or religious centre for the Picts . This assumption is due to the high concentration of sculptured stones found there. All of the stones were found in the churchyard or fabric of the present church.

Visiting the Museum

The facility is managed by government agency, Historic Environment Scotland. Check the Meigle Sculptured Stones website for opening times and access details.

More information for the visitor

The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland contains sections on Scotland’s history and the Picts. ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.