Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM67_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003025)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises a Pictish symbol-incised stone. It lies in gently sloping improved pasture at about 220 m OD. First scheduled in 1923 and subsequently rescheduled in 1961, it is being rescheduled now to define the scheduled area accurately to modern standards.

The upright stone that bears the carvings is irregular in shape, standing about 1.5 m high and measuring about 1.2 m across its base, tapering to about 0.3 m wide it its point. It appears to have been broken in antiquity, partly destroying the symbols that incised on the stone. These designs comprise a complete disc with a triscele ornament and two incomplete symbols.

The area to be scheduled is circular, centred on the stone, to include the remains described and an area around in which evidence relating to its erection and use may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monument's archaeological and historic significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics: The monument is the surviving fragment of a symbol-incised stone, possibly representing Pictish reuse of an early prehistoric standing stone. In the absence of excavation, no precise date can be assigned to the stone or the symbols upon it. However, a date in the AD 600s for the carvings would seem likely. Few Pictish sculptures survive in their original locations, as seems likely here. Given the site's current use as pastureland, it is likely that archaeologically significant deposits relating to the erection and use of the symbol stone remain in place. Despite the stone having been broken in antiquity, the site has considerable potential to enhance understanding of prehistoric standing stones, Pictish symbol-incised stones and the rituals and practices of the people who used them. It also has the potential to contribute to our growing understanding of the Pictish attitudes to and relationship with prehistoric monuments. Study of the carved symbols has the potential to contribute to understanding of the development of Insular art in Britain and Ireland and technical aspects of carving stones in the early medieval period.

Contextual characteristics: The monument is a representative of a relatively numerous class. The Picts used symbols in a range of contexts, but the majority of surviving examples are found carved on stones. The earliest examples of this are on unshaped stones like that at Corrachree, of which around 200 examples survive. Indeed, the valleys of the lower Don and its tributaries contain 41 such monuments (22% of the national total). The symbols visible on the Corachree stone are, however, unique in Pictish art and are therefore particularly important in understanding its development through space and time.

The meaning of the symbols is much debated, but they may represent personal names or rank, or commemorate marriage alliances or deceased people of note. Some symbol-incised stones have an association with early historic burials or, possibly, prehistoric ritual sites. The proximity of this particular example to a scattering of burial cairns less than a kilometre to the S may therefore be significant. There is scant historic documentation for Pictish Aberdeenshire and little evidence for Pictish settlement sites in the area, so symbol-incised stones are one of the prime archaeological sources for an understanding of Pictish society.

We find symbol-incised Pictish stones throughout the good agricultural land of NE Scotland and the Corachree stone's location in a river valley (Strathdon) is typical. Its altitude also falls within the normal range for such findspots in Strathdon. While the symbol designs are unique to the Picts, their content provides evidence for how the art of the Picts relates to the Insular art style of this period, and the relationship to art in different media, such as metalwork. Such art-historical analysis provides important evidence for the relationship between the Picts and their early medieval neighbours.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular the culture of the Picts in Aberdeenshire, their art and beliefs, and their cultural links with other areas of Scotland and the British Isles. It is a rare instance of a symbol-incised stone still situated in its original location. This helps us to understand the relationship of such monuments to Pictish perceptions of the landscape, as well as to earlier prehistoric monuments. Loss of, or damage to, the monument would significantly diminish the capacity of the class to contribute to our understanding of Pictish society in general and that of Strathdon in particular.

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.