caithness-1911/05_191

Transcription

INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS, ETC., IN COUNTY OF CAITHNESS. -- [Page] 109

PARISH OF REAY.

404. Standing-Stones, Achvarasdal Lodge. - Some 60 yards to the
NE. of the kitchen-garden at Achvarasdal Lodge lies a large fallen
monolith, measuring 11' 10" in length, and square in section, with
a diameter of 2' 6"; while some 60' to the S. of it lies another
similar stone, 11' 6" in length, also rectangular in section, with a
diameter of 2' 5" at base and less at the opposite end. Both stones
lie pointing in the same direction, viz., E. and W., and have
evidently at one time been standing-stones.
O.S.M., CAITH., x. ( unnoted). Visited, 16th September 1910.

405. Sculptured Stone found in Broch, Lybster. - A sculptured stone,
said to have been found in the broch (No. 347) near the old Chapel
of St Mary's, Lybster, in Reay, is described and illustrated in the
Sculptured Stones of Scotland, and in The Early Christian Monuments of
Scotland. It is of Caithness sandstone, rectangular in form, 2' 3" in
height by 2' 2" in width, and is sculptured on one face with incised lines,
thus:- At the top, the crescent and V-shaped sceptre symbol, and below
it the horse-shoe or arch symbol, both ornamented with curved lines.
The stone is said to have been presented to the King of Denmark by
Sir George Sinclair, the proprietor, but it has not been traced.
See Sculptured Stones of Scotland, i. p. 11, pl. xxx ; Early Christ.
Mon., pt. iii. p. 30 (illus.).
O.S.M., CAITH., iv.

406. Sculptured Stone, Sandside. - At Sandside House there is a
stone incised with symbols (pl. XXXVI.), which was found built into
a stone dyke near Shurrery, not far from Tigh a' Bheannaich, which
was evidently the site of a chapel or religious foundation. It is a
rectangular block of sandstone, 2' 5" in length, 9" in breadth, and 8"
in thickness. On the face of the stone is incised a small stemmed
circle or orb, 4" in diameter, containing an equal-armed cross. The
stem is 3 1/2" in length, 1" in breadth where it joins the circle, and 1 1/2 "
at base. Beneath, and occupying the breadth of the stone, is a plain
circle with a diameter of 8".

407. Sculptured Stone, Sandside. - Placed against a wall at the E. side of
Sandside House, and set within a wooden frame, is another sculptured
slab (pl. XXXVII.). It was found about fifty years ago, near the site
of an ancient settlement on the sand links by the sea shore at Sand-
side, and was subsequently used to cover a mill-lade where a road
crossed, in which position it remained until September 1889, when
it attracted the notice of Mr Pilkington, the proprietor of Sandside,
during some repairs to the mill-lade, and who removed it for pre-
servation to Sandside House. It is a rectangular slab of the hard
sandstone of the district, 4' 8 1/2" long by 1' 11 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" thick,
sculptured on one face wth incised lines, thus:-
Front. - At the top, a symbol (unnoticed previous to the discovery
of this stone), consisting of a horizontal row of three flattened ovals,
joined together in the middle by pairs of small circles, and having a
double outline at the tops and bottoms of the ovals; below this, the
mirror-case symbol; and at the bottom, the mirror-and-comb symbol.
See Early Christ. Mon., pt. iii. p. 29.
O.S.M., CAITH., ix. Visited, 29th August 1910.