Shandwick Stone

The Pictish stone at Shandwick, also known as Clach a' Charridh, stands over 100ft (30m) high. It is located on a hilltop overlooking the village of Shandwick, near Tain.<br /> <br /> One side of the stone is decorated with an elaborate cross design. The other is separated into five panels. These include an impressive hunting scene and a complex pattern of serpents trying to bite their own bodies, similar to 8th century metal work from Britain and Europe. The top panel includes a double disc symbol over a Pictish beast. <br /> <br /> The stone is a Class II Pictish stone which means that it is carved in relief with a cross on one side and recognisable Pictish designs on the other. Class II stones were carved during the 8th and 9th centuries. The Shandwick stone blew down in a gale in 1846 but was restored and is now housed in a glass case in its original position on the hill. <br /> <br /> This illustration was taken from 'Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Scotland, in a series of letters to Thomas Pennant Esq', by Rev Charles Cordiner, Minister of St Andrew's Chapel, Banff (1780)