News

A recently discovered assemblage of Pictish Stones will be on long term display in the village of Aberlemno later in 2025.

The discovery of a stone slabbed floor of a large building in 2022 led to a small project team comprising Aberlemno Village Hall, ANGUSalive, Aberdeen University and the Pictish Arts Society to be formed.

The 2022 excavation near the Angus village of Aberlemno was led by Professor Gordon Noble from Aberdeen University, who uncovered the stone slabbed floor of a large building.

The excavation revealed an entrance with an elaborate threshold incorporating several flag stones, of which three were carved; one with cup-marks, another with a faint spiral, and the third was a Pictish symbol stone with seven different symbols.

The stones’ location, clustered around the entrance, suggested that reusing these ancient carvings was a deliberate element of the design as Radiocarbon samples indicate the building was constructed around 1000-1200 AD.

Through the Treasure Trove system, the assemblage was allocated to ANGUSalive to be cared for.

A grant application to Angus Council secured the necessary funding to display the symbol stone in Aberlemno Village Hall. This project – “Bringing History Home – and to the World” received £32,000 from the UK Government through the Community Asset Capital Grant. The grant was awarded by the Angus Council’s Policy and Resources Executive Sub-Committee from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Communities and Place Priority Funding Scheme.

This grant has allowed modifications to the entrance of the Village Hall and provides an opportunity to improve facilities for visitors.

Isabelle Davies of Aberlemno Village Hall Committee said: “After a lot of hard work we are now awaiting the installation of the magnificent monument in its new home.

“We hope that visitors enjoy this exciting and important piece of history which has been uncovered and will now be on display at Aberlemno Village Hall.”

Emma Gilliland, ANGUSalive Museums & Galleries Collections Lead said: “It is exciting to see this project come to fruition through strong partnership working.

“We’re delighted to add this significant Pictish stone to the Angus Collections and through a loan agreement it will be on display at its home in Aberlemno which is a well-known site of a Pictish settlement.”

For further information, the Village Hall can be contacted via their website at aberlemno.org. The ANGUSalive collections team can be contacted by emailing collections@angusalive.scot.