| Corpus Refs: | none |
| Site: | FORDN |
| Discovery: | in/on structure, 1788 anonymous |
| History: | Stuart/1823, 314: `It was first observed upon taking down the old church, for the purpose of rebuilding it, about thirty or forty years since. It had been placed horizontally as a base of the pulpit to rest on, and was...thrown aside for many years into the old Chapel of St Palladius, hard by'. NMRS/NO77NW3: `the old church was built in 1788 replacing an earlier one on the same site; the old chapel was restored in 1872 but deroofed again c.1928 and is now dilapidated'. Okasha/1985, 52, records that it remained there until 1966 when the stone was placed in the vestibule of the church, where it remains today. `According to the church officer, another piece of stone, perhaps from the same cross-slab, was also found in 1966, but was disposed of'. |
| Geology: | Okasha/1985, 52: `Lower Old Red Sandstone, probably Arbuthnott Group and probably quarried'. |
| Dimensions: | 1.58 x 0.88 x 0.75 (Okasha/1985) |
| Setting: | unattch |
| Location: | on site In the vestibule of Fordoun parish church in the village of Auchenblae. The stone is leaning against the wall such that the reverse is not visible. |
| Form: | cross-slab A large thin upright cross-slab (Class II) carved with incised lines and in low relief. At the four intersections of the arms there are circular holes. |
| Condition: | incomplete , some The top is broken off and large areas of the carved surface have laminated away (most of the top right quadrant). The carving on the lower portion of the slab, however, is still sharp. |
| Folklore: | Jervise/1857, 465, records that the stone was said to have been raised to commemorate the death of King Kenneth III murdered near the shrine of St Palladius. |
| Crosses: | 1: equal-armed; outline; straight; plain; round holl; ind; billet; none; decorated |
| Decorations: | animal; figural; frame; geometric ribbon interlace; Pictish symbol The reverse is not visible. Macalister/1940, 199, states that it had `flaked away'. The decorations are as follows:-- Within cross: panels divided by framing lines. Interlace work in centre and on left arm (right arm lost). Upper arm - part of a sea monster. Lower arm - an armed horseman. Around cross: Top left quadrant - inscription. Top right quadrant - lost. Bottom left and right quadrant - armed horseman accompanied by dogs. Below cross: Pictish symbol (double-disc and Z-rod). |
| Allen, R. (1903): | [--] | PIDARNOIN Expansion: [--] PIDARNOIN Allen/Anderson/1903 202 reading only |
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1940): | RURTES[I] | PIDARNOIN | : Expansion: RURTES IP(E) IDARNOIN |
| Okasha, E. (1985): | [..]D[.][--]NOI[.] Expansion: [..]D[.][--]NOI[.] |
| Orientation: | horizontal |
| Position: | n/a ; broad ; within quadrants ; quadrant On the background of the cross in the top left quadrant. |
| Incision: | incised |
| Date: | 700 - 799 (Jackson/1955) Dated on the basis of the script. |
| Language: | Brittonic (rbook) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | Allen/Anderson/1903, 202: `Hiberno-Saxon minuscules'. Okasha/1985, 51: `it is not even certain which script was used'. |
| Legibility: | some The beginning of the inscription has broken away. The lower portion of a line of letters is visible above the extant complete line. The surviving letters are worn. |
| Lines: | 2 |
| Carving errors: | |
| Doubtful: | no |
| Macalister, R.A.S. (1940): | VUN[I]MSETTOR BRE[--][EN]N Expansion: VUN[I]MSETTOR BRE[--][EN]N Macalister/1940 200 concise discussion |
| Orientation: | vertical down |
| Position: | n/a ; narrow ; n/a ; undecorated Macalister/1940, 199, saw it running along the sinister edge of the slab on the narrow face (not the arris). |
| Incision: | inc |
| Date: | None published |
| Language: | Indeterminate (ogham) |
| Ling. Notes: | none |
| Palaeography: | none |
| Legibility: | inc Both Rhys/1898, 348, and Macalister/1940, 198--200, claim to have seen an ogham inscription on this slab, although no other authority has been able to do so. Macalister/1940, 199, suggests that it begins 3" below clamp reading downwards VUN. Then 6-7 scores were defaced, then MSETTORB, and R or sloping N, 8" blank (17-18 scores) beginning with E or C, ends with N. |
| Lines: | 1 |
| Carving errors: | 0 |
| Doubtful: | yes |