Rare Lost Pictish Stone With Strange Mythical Beasts Goes On Display For The First Time

Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – For the first time ever we get the chance to see the Conan Stone, a rare Pictish stone decorated with strange, massive mythical beasts.

Known as the Conan Stone, the Pictish symbol stone was accidentally discovered last year when a member of NOSAS (North of Scotland Archaeological Society), Anne MacInnes, was exploring an old neglected burial ground that she had become aware of, just south of Conan Bridge in Scotland.

The four faces of the Conon Stone. The Cross face surmounted by Pictish beasts can now be seen through the window of Dingwall Museum. Credit: NOSAS

“She and a colleague were working their way round the stones, recording the memorial inscriptions and the artwork. Many of the stones were lying on or in the ground, almost hidden. Anne still remembers clearing the leaves from one stone that was just showing by an edge and seeing what she knew immediately to be a Pictish figure inscribed on the stone, although she couldn’t quite believe it. She and her colleague cleared some more of the stone and more Pictish symbols appeared. She covered it all up, called some colleagues who came and confirmed that she had indeed found a new Pictish symbol stone,” the Scottish Society for Northern Studies reports.

The Conan Stone showing a visible edge. Credit: NOSAS

The Conan Stone has the potential to be a valuable asset expanding scientists’ knowledge about the beliefs of the Picts.

Ancient Pages explained earlier, “not much is known about the mysterious Picts and yet, they played a vital role in the history of Scotland. These brave and determined people repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles and won one of the most important battles in Scottish history.

The Picts used mysterious symbols that still haven’t been properly deciphered, and their enigmatic language is now extinct.” ‘

Many intriguing Pictish stones have been found, but it’s often difficult to decipher the symbols and their meaning. The Dandaleith Stone for example has long posed a challenge to scientists. This solid pink granite boulder was incised with odd carvings on two adjoining faces by the Picts. Curiously, the stone’s two other faces show no obvious signs of carvings.

The 1,200 -year-old Conan Stone has already been recognized as uniquely significant, and “it is now on show in the window at Dingwall Museum after £20,000 was raised by the North of Scotland Archaeological Society and the Pictish Arts Society to remove and restore the cross-slab,” The Scotsman reports.

Anne MacInnes, who discovered the stone, said: “When the Conan Stone is unveiled in the window of Dingwall Museum it will be the culmination of a journey that started when I brushed back some leaves from a graveslab.

A drawing of the Conan Stone whilst in the ground. Credit: Historic Environment Scotland

“From the moment of realization that it was a Pictish stone to its installation in the Museum has proved to be quite a journey involving huge commitment and cooperation from many people in different capacities. “

Scientists are convinced the Pictish stone served as a grave marker since at least the 1700s. It currently measures 1.5 meters tall but it is thought it may have originally stood almost a meter taller.

The stone is decorated with a number of Pictish designs, including several mythical beasts, an oxen, an animal-headed warrior with a sword and shield, and a Christian cross.

The stone ready for transport. Credit: Graciela Ainsworth

It’s not unusual to find Pictish stones decorated with Christian symbols, but this is “one of around 50 complete or near-complete Pictish cross-slabs known in the world and the first to be discovered on the Scottish mainland for many years. Adding to this the puzzling mythical beasts, the stone can undoubtedly be of great interest to those fascinated with mythology and ancient beliefs of the Picts.

If you are interested to learn more about the Conan Stone, a conference, at which a number of experts will speak about the importance of the find, is due to take place online in March 2021.

Written by Jan Bartek – MessageToEagle.com – AncientPages.com Staff Writer