Provenance
Discovery: Also known as Kirriemuir 2, the first recording of the ogham inscription is an illustration by John Borland as part of the Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland collection published online on Canmore. The stone was re-used for the foundations of the old Parish Church of Kirriemuir and was found in 1787 when the church was being demolished (Stuart 1856, 14).
Findspot: Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland (National Grid Reference: NO 3895 5448)
Current repository: Scotland Meffan Museum and Gallery, Forfar (inv. no. K1999.352)
Last recorded location(s): Recorded in Meffan Museum and Gallery, Forfar on 10 June 2025 to 3D record the stone for OG(H)AM.
Support
Trove 32300
Object type: Cross-slab
Material: Sandstone
Dimensions: H 1.15 × W 0.51-0.59 × D 0.11 m
Decoration: The front face is decorated with a cross with ‘a cloaked man clutching a small square shield and a staff on one side of the shaft and a hunting scene on the other’ (Fraser 2008, 56). The back face depicts two huntsmen on horseback with a double-disc and Z-rod symbol accompanying the upper figure (Fraser 2008, 56). The left-hand edge is decorated with a key pattern.
Condition: A cross-slab carved with Pictish symbols and an ogham inscription which is weathered but intact.
Inscription
Text field: The left-hand edge of the slab possibly features an ogham inscription, centred below a key pattern. The inscription is cut on a drawn stem-line and reads upwards. The lower portion of the stem-line continues straight and the upper portion veers slightly to the left.
Letters:
Date: Eight or ninth century
Edition
Ogham text: ᚑᚂᚉᚋᚋᚔ
Transcription: OLCMMI
Translation
The inscription is insufficient to produce a translation.
Commentary
Information about the ogham inscription and its analysis is limited due to the lack of publications.
References
- Fraser 2008, 56-57
- Stuart 1856, 14-15