Medieval Standing Stone, Glendale, Skye

The carvings are not particularly clear in this photograph but the sculptured graveslab is probably the stone located near the south entrance to the burial ground at Kilchoan in Glendale. The slab features a rare image of a harpist on the upper part of the stone above the handle of a claymore. A chalice and the figure of a mitred bishop are on the right of the sword with panels of foliage elsewhere. For some time the slab was set upside down, as it is here, and acted as a headstone. This also provided some protection against the weather.<br /> <br /> According to early records, a chapel on this site was dedicated to St Congan. However, little evidence of the structure remains. The walled burial ground on the north side of the Hamara River is known as Kilchoan Graveyard, a name also found in Strath on Skye as well as in Ardnamurchan and Knoydart.