Building record MAB35300 - ST ORLAND'S STONE, COSSANS

St Orland's Stone is a Class II upright cross-slab of Old Red Sandstone, nearly rectangular, 2.3 m high, 71 cm wide at base, tapering slightly towards the top, and 25.4 cm thick, standing within a small fenced enclosure.

St Orland's Stone is a Class II upright cross-slab of Old Red Sandstone, nearly rectangular, 2.3 m high, 71 cm wide at base, tapering slightly towards the top, and 25.4 cm thick, standing within a small fenced enclosure. It bears on one face a full length cross in relief and a variety of interlaced patterns in low relief. On the other side are carvings which include a crescent with a V-rod, a double-disc with Z-rod, horsemen and a boat containing six figures. A series of small-scale excavations was carried out by Kirkdale Archaeology in August 2008 around the stone to determine if the stone is in its original location and find the extent of previous investigations at the site. The slab remained in situ during the excavation and was braced by scaffolding. Two trenches were excavated within the fenced enclosure, in which the stone sits, while a series of test pits were excavated outside of the fence to provide context. The cross slab has been reset with concrete running under the base of the stone, and the stone and ground level within the fence raised 0.3-0.4 m. The stone was tapered at its base, coming to a point at its south end 0.6 m below the current ground surface and rising to the north. In the southeast trench a partly exposed cut feature below the stone may have been an earlier socket, but further excavation would be required to confirm this. Disturbed soils to the east of the slab were interpreted as part of Jervise's 1859 excavation (NO45SW0008), although three 17th century coins recovered from a layer above may indicate that this reflects even earlier work. Archaeological deposits below this, including a cut feature at the east end of the trench, indicate that significant deposits survive in this area. In the northwest trench a pair of human tibia (not lifted) oriented east-west below a sandstone slab indicate the presence of surviving, albeit damaged, burials. A possible further cist cover (not raised) and two possible unlined graves in the west section were also recorded in this trench. Both trenches produced evidence of an earlier circular fence around the stone, comprising massive slabs in fence posts were set, truncating the west end of the human tibia. Test pits were dug to the north, east, south and west, with those to the north and west revealing probable ploughsoil over a sandy subsoil. To the east, darker hillwash and gleyed soils were encountered, while to the south a more complex sequence of ploughed or windblown deposits was recorded. In 2010 Kirkdale Archaeology dug a socket through the backfill of the 2008 excavation, against the east face of the stone, to allow the stone to be reset in concrete. No new archaeological observations were made.

A/79977/PO, A/79977/PO (Photograph). SAB26305.

A/79978/CS, A/79978/CS (Photograph). SAB26306.

AN/1641, AN/1641 (Photograph). SAB26307.

AN/1642, AN/1642 (Photograph). SAB26990.

AN/1643, AN/1643 (Photograph). SAB26308.

AN/1644, AN/1644 (Photograph). SAB26309.

AN/1645, AN/1645 (Photograph). SAB26310.

AN/1646, AN/1646 (Photograph). SAB26991.

AN/3158/PO, AN/3158/PO (Photograph). SAB26311.

AN/3159/PO, AN/3159/PO (Photograph). SAB26312.

AN/3160/PO, AN/3160/PO (Photograph). SAB26313.

AN/764, AN/764 (Photograph). SAB26314.

AN/765, AN/765 (Photograph). SAB26315.

AND/809/1/P, AND/809/1/P (Photograph). SAB26887.

B/61422, B/61422 (Photograph). SAB26992.

B/80007/PO, B/80007/PO (Photograph). SAB26316.

B/80008/PO, B/80008/PO (Photograph). SAB26317.

B/80131/PO, B/80131/PO (Photograph). SAB26888.

B/80131/S, B/80131/S (Photograph). SAB26915.

B/80132/PO, B/80132/PO (Photograph). SAB26318.

B/80133/PO, B/80133/PO (Photograph). SAB26889.

B/80167/PO, B/80167/PO (Photograph). SAB26319.

B/80168/PO, B/80168/PO (Photograph). SAB26320.

B/80614/PO, B/80614/PO (Photograph). SAB26321.

D/08584, D/08584 (Photograph). SAB27199.

OSA, 1791-9, [Untitled], Vol.3, 126 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9569.

Chalmers, P, 1848, [Untitled] (Bibliographic reference). SAB6177.

Stuart, J, 1856, 1, 26 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9257.

Jervise, A, 1859, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 2, 248-51 (Bibliographic reference). SAB12010.

ALLEN AND ANDERSON, J R, 1903, [Untitled], pt. 3, 216-18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB12074.

Childe and Simpson, V G and, 1954, [Untitled], 74 (Bibliographic reference). SAB7204.

COUTTS, H, 1970, ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF TAYSIDE, 55, no.8 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5242.

MacKie, E W, 1975, [Untitled], 188-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6329.

Feachem, R W, 1977, [Untitled], 196 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11724.

Henderson, I, 1978, Brit Archaeol Rep Brit Ser 49, 52-3 (Bibliographic reference). SAB12061.

RCAHMS, 1983, [Untitled], 21, No.154 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9069.

Jackson, A, 1984, [Untitled] (Bibliographic reference). SAB11903.

Ritchie, J N G, 1985, [Untitled], 15 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9297.

Mack, A, 1997, [Untitled], 63 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11545.

MILLAR, S, 2001, Geological survey of early medieval sculptures (Bibliographic reference). SAB2994.

KIRKDALE ARCH\AEOLOGY, 2008, ST. ORLAND'S STONE EXCAVATIONS AUGUST AND OCTOBER 2008, Excavation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB1017.

FRASER, I, 2008, THE PICTISH SYMBOL STONES OF SCOTLAND, 50-51 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2523.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2009, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, VOL 9, 2008, p.32 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3496.

KIRKDALE ARCHAEOLOGY, 2011, ST ORLAND'S STONE: EXCAVATION, NOVEMBER 2010, Excavation report (Bibliographic reference). SAB1037.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2012, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND. NEW SERIES, VOLUME 12, 2011, p.31 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5536.

Record last edited

Jul 7 2025 2:35PM