Nigg Stone
The Nigg Stone or Stone of Nigg is one of the stone monuments from the time of the Picts as they are found in greater numbers in the north of Scotland. He stands in the parish church of the hamlet Nigg, located on the peninsula on the southeastern coast of the Highlands region and is considered one of the most elaborate and best- prepared specimens of its kind
History
As time of origin of the stone, the second half of the eighth century is assumed. Where the stone was erected at that time is unknown. The oldest documentary sources name as the location directly adjacent to the parish church of Nigg Cemetery and there probably at the entrance. At this point he was to be found in 1727, because at that time he was knocked over by a strong storm. Subsequently, he was leaning directly to the church, on the gable wall, erected.
He was still, as Charles Cordiner visited the stone in the 1780s. Cordiner, a priest from Banff, who also worked as a landscape painter, draftsman, illustrator and antiquary, had some years previously toured the area and (re ) discovered on this occasion the stone from Hilton of Cadboll. Comes the first known description and also prepared by him and engraved by Peter Mazell drawing, at least one side, from the year 1788 from him.
Some years later, an attempt was made to convert the stone, since he was the access to the grave lay one of the local clan families, the Ross of Kindean in the way. Here, the top part broke off a small piece missing ever since. The stone was then placed upside down. In this state, found him Charles Carter Petley, who is also a drawing before, this time anfertigte from both sides to 1811. In the following years was the lower part of the upper land on which a so-called Pictish Beast was pictured, lost, because when the stone was again around 1855, this time outlined by Andrew Gibb, it was already missing. The part was rediscovered in 1998 in a nearby creek bed. The Fund can be circumstantial evidence that it had been deliberately thrown away. It is now kept in the museum in Tain.
At the instigation of John Romilly Allen, the end of the nineteenth century for his, together with Joseph Anderson published standard work Early Christian monuments of Scotland recorded all relevant objects, the stone was a protected, separated with a small grid area set up. The upper part was placed directly on the lower part, both connected with steel brackets, then fixed the whole thing with a steel rod. Later, the rod was removed and an artificial spacer used to represent the original dimensions better.
Today, the stone is in the church converted into a museum and can be visited there. Church and stone lying on the Pictish Trail, a tourist street of the Highland Council, with the interested parties at seventeen stations, the culture of the Picts should be brought closer. In July 2012, the stone was taken to a workshop in Edinburgh, where he is to be restored. Since 1925 the stone is entered in the run by Historic Scotland list of Scheduled Monuments, he thus stands under monument protection.
Description
The stone is about 2.20 meters high and one meter wide, made of the prevailing in the area in the underground Old Red Sandstone and provided with relief-like representations and ornaments. Both sides are strictly divided geometrically into individual fields. The cross depicted on one side with its narrower webs, which connects the central area with the ends, similar to other stones like those of Meigle, Kirriemuir Monifieth or. The, spatial depth -promoting, hemispherical type of ornamentation is known from a drawing from the Lindisfarne Gospels. Other similarities to the high crosses of the Isle of Iona and with representations from Ireland. The same applies also for the lined up in just a few kilometers monumental stones of Hilton of Cadboll and Shandwick. Test results between 1991 and 2007 the capitalization excavations of a hitherto unknown Pictish monastery at Portmahomack, about twenty kilometers north-east of Nigg, also have a common origin of the three stones suggests.
The scenery in the gable part can be interpreted as scenes from the life of the desert father Paul. He and Anthony during scripture study; the light coming from above bird that got the bread; the two palms, which offered him in his desert dwelling protection; the two lions, which are said to have buried Paul after his death in the desert. Everything as it was told in the legend of Paul written by him Jerome. Alternatively come in also a story from the life of Columbanus into consideration, in which he, as described in the written by Adomnan hagiography, by Cronan, a bishop from the Irish Munster invited together to break bread with him. The two dogs under the table could make reference to ( Mk 7.28 EU), which should drop something for them from the bread that will eat it.
The lower scene shows Christian reference. You can see David, in the early Christian iconography of the British Isles often as a symbol for Jesus to identify itself and by the attributes of a sheep and a harp. More people and a number of animals can be the representation of a hunt suspect. The scenery is similar to that on the so-called Sarcophagus of St. Andrews, found in the cathedral of the same city, who also hails from the Pictish period. You may also see these people represent David, who fights with a lion or just generally provides protection. Similar hunting scenes, however, are generally often seen on stones that period.
At the bottom of two other people are shown. The one carries in each hand, each a circular object, possibly a tympanum. She is facing with head tilted the other, seated on a horse figure, which could be classified by their sidesaddle as female. The constellation looks like an illustration from the ancient Greek and later ancient Roman Cybele cult.
It is striking that from the rich wealth of forms Pictish symbols none of the geometric figures is shown. Only the so-called Pictish Beast is unique to this, possibly the bird of prey shown above.
Since the stone both Christian motifs as well, with the Pictish Beast, at least one of the classic Pictish symbols shows it is classified according to the vervendeten in the Pictish stones classification in Class 2. It is thus both a Pictish symbol stone and a cross plate. On the page with the hunting scene it is significantly more damaged than on the cross - section. This suggests that was eventually tried in vain here, abzumeißeln these representations in order to replace it with a contemporary inscription and use the stone as a grave stone or plate again. Such a fate had befallen the Hilton of Cadboll Stone.
Classification
These assignments are all considered to be obsolete, the bricks clearly belong to the Pictish culture. Also mentioned in the saga cave counts as presumptive residence of a Pictish king named Nechtan, thereto, but may be even older. Furthermore, but unexplained, in addition to the illustrated symbolism, the purpose of their existence remains. Previous approaches for these monuments were generally assuming it could be, for instance markings for heroes graves, cemeteries, hermitages or former chapels, memorials to important events or to setting limits. Under the impact of the results of recent excavations at Portmahomack is also the consideration, there might have been in the entire area around the former monastery several portages, so shallow, short land connections between waters where boats were transported over land to avoid detours or to avoid danger zones. In this context, a function of the stones came as a marker for navigation into account by marking about a place to land. Here it is important to consider that at the time of its formation in the early Middle Ages the sea was a good bit higher, the visibility of individual places other than was accordingly today.