Documents

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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

  SM11869_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600014115)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises two Pictish symbol-bearing stones standing on the village green at Rhynie where they flank the entrance at the NW end of the square.

The S stone is a granite boulder measuring 70cm by 50cm by 30cm (known as Rhynie 3). Earlier observers describe this stone as incised with the figure of a man with a shield and a horseshoe or arch composed of five parallel arcs. The figure was shown walking from right to left, wearing a cloak, holding a ball-ended staff (probably a spear) in his left hand and carrying a small rectangular shield. In 1996, the RCAHMS could only see faint traces of the carving; the stone is very worn and areas of the surface have flaked off.

The N stone is a smaller granite boulder 59cm by 48cm by 19cm (known as Rhynie 2) which bears a double-disc and Z-rod above a crescent and V-rod (the stone was re-erected upside down). Again there is now no trace of the carving.

The two symbol-bearing stones are said to have been moved around 1836 when the turnpike road was built at Rhynie, near the Plough Inn. A number of human bones were dug up near the site at the same time. After an interval in which they were placed beside the Howies Inn, the stones were removed in 1864 to the centre of the market square facing the church. They were removed from the centre of the square and placed together at the NW end of the square when the war memorial was erected in around 1918.

The area to be scheduled is composed of two circles, centred on each of the stones as described above and as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

Cultural Significance

The monumentis archaeological significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics: Both symbol stones have the potential to enhance the study of Pictish symbol stones and the development of Insular art in Britain and Ireland. While the carvings are worn, future recording techniques may have the potential to recover more detail of their original form and the stones have added importance when considered as part of the group of stones found in Rhynie.

Contextual characteristics: Although both stones no longer stand where they were originally erected, they are still closely associated with the locality. The Picts used symbols in a range of contexts, but the majority of surviving examples are found carved on stones. The earliest examples are found on unshaped stones (around 200 examples survive). The meaning of the symbols is much debated, but they may represent personal names. The Rhynie examples probably date to the 6th or 7th centuries AD. Stones carved with human figures are rare.

Six symbol-bearing stones and two figure-bearing stones have been found in Rhynie. Isabel Henderson suggests the importance of Rhynie as a disseminating area for symbol-incised stones.

Associative characteristics: The Rhynie stones can best be understood in the context of the symbol-bearing stones erected in the E of Scotland during the 6th and 7th centuries AD. 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. Again, this provides important evidence for the relationship between the Picts and their early medieval neighbours. Although all but the Craw Stane (Rhynie 1) have lost their original landscape setting, it is known approximately where most of the Rhynie stones were first found, if not precisely where they originally stood. This means that as a group they can offer insights into the siting of symbol stones that are otherwise lacking in finds elsewhere. The records indicate that the stones were originally disposed in two groups, one focused on the knoll at the S end of the village, the other around the Craw Stane, each group bearing an incised figure.

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 of the culture of the Picts in Aberdeenshire and their cultural links with other areas of Scotland and the British Isles. The information available on the original locations of these stones, and their group value as two of the eight symbol-bearing stones that have been located in the Ryynie area, enhances this potential.

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.