Clach an Tiompain

Last updated

The Eagle Stone
Clach an Tiompain
Eagle Stone - geograph.org.uk - 8563.jpg
Clach an Tiompain, Strathpeffer
MaterialBlue gneiss
Height32 inches (81 cm)
Width24 inches (61 cm)
Symbols
  • Horseshoe
  • Eagle
Created500-700AD
Present locationStrathpeffer, Easter Ross
grid ref   NH48455852 [1]
Coordinates 57°35′29″N4°32′8″W / 57.59139°N 4.53556°W / 57.59139; -4.53556
ClassificationClass I incised stone
Culture Picto-Scottish

Clach an Tiompain (in English, the "Sounding Stone") or The Eagle Stone is a small Class I Pictish stone [1] located on a hill on the northern outskirts of Strathpeffer in Easter Ross, Scotland.

Contents

Description

The stone is made of blue gneiss and is 32 inches (81 cm) high, 24 inches (61 cm) wide, and 10 inches (25 cm) thick. [1] Carved on the southeast side are two images, a horse shoe-like arc symbol above an eagle.

History

The stone was originally located further down the hill, towards Dingwall, but was moved to its current site in 1411. [2] One old tradition is that the stone marks the site of a Scottish clan battle that took place in 1411 between the Clan Munro and a branch of the Clan MacDonald, and that the stone commemorates a Munro victory as it is marked with their symbol, an eagle. [3] According to Norman Macrae the stone was placed there by the Munros while marching against Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles. [4]

The stone is associated with the prophecies of the 16th century Brahan Seer (Scottish Gaelic : Coinneach Odhar). He predicted that if the stone fell three times, the surrounding valley would be flooded, and the stone used as an anchor.

It has since fallen twice, and is now set in concrete.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Ross</span> Scottish clan

Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingwall</span> Town in Highland, Scotland

Dingwall is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross, Scotland</span> Traditional region of Scotland

Ross is an area of Scotland. It was first recorded in the tenth century as a province, at which time it was under Norwegian overlordship. It was claimed by the Scottish crown in 1098, and from the 12th century Ross was an earldom. From 1661 there was a county of Ross, also known as Ross-shire, covering most but not all of the province, in particular excluding Cromartyshire. Cromartyshire was subsequently merged with the county of Ross in 1889 to form the county of Ross and Cromarty. The area is now part of the Highland council area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Harlaw</span> 1411 Scottish clan battle

The Battle of Harlaw was a Scottish clan battle fought on 24 July 1411 just north of Inverurie in Aberdeenshire. It was one of a series of battles fought during the Middle Ages between the barons of northeast Scotland and those from the west coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pictish stone</span> Monuments erected by early Scottish tribes

A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are the most visible remaining evidence of the Picts and are thought to date from the 6th to 9th century, a period during which the Picts became Christianized. The earlier stones have no parallels from the rest of the British Isles, but the later forms are variations within a wider Insular tradition of monumental stones such as high crosses. About 350 objects classified as Pictish stones have survived, the earlier examples of which holding by far the greatest number of surviving examples of the mysterious symbols, which have long intrigued scholars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Mackenzie</span> Scottish clan

Clan Mackenzie is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However, the earliest Mackenzie chief recorded by contemporary evidence is Alexander Mackenzie of Kintail who died some time after 1471. Traditionally, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Mackenzies supported Robert the Bruce, but feuded with the Earls of Ross in the latter part of the 14th century. During the 15th and 16th-centuries the Mackenzies feuded with the neighboring clans of Munro and MacDonald. In the 17th century the Mackenzie chief was made Earl of Seaforth in the peerage of Scotland. During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Mackenzies largely supported the Royalists. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the chief and clan of Mackenzie supported the Jacobite cause. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the clan was divided with the chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, supporting the British-Hanoverian Government and his relative, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, supporting the Jacobites.

Strathpeffer is a village and spa town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Macrae</span> Highland Scottish clan

The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an armigerous clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clach a' Charridh</span>

The Clach a' Charridh or Shandwick Stone is a Class II Pictish stone located near Shandwick on the Tarbat peninsula in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is a scheduled monument. Since 1988 it has been encased in a glass cover room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clach Biorach</span> Neolithic standing stone in Scotland

Clach Chairidh, alternatively named Clach Biorach, is a Class I Pictish stone located in a field near the village of Edderton in Easter Ross.

The Dingwall Stone is a Class I Pictish stone located in Dingwall, Easter Ross, Scotland. It is thought by some to be of Bronze Age origin, and contains several cup and ring marks alleged to date from that period. If it had been used in the Bronze Age, the Picts later reused it. On one side it has a crescent and v-rod, and on the other a double disc and Z-rod with another two crescents and Z-rods below. It was being used as a lintel over a doorway in the church when it was identified in 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bealach nam Broig</span> Battle in Highland, Scotland, UK

The Battle of Bealach nam Broig was fought between Scottish clans from the lands of north-west Ross, against north-eastern clans of Ross who supported the Earl of Ross. The actual date of the battle is debated, it probably occurred in 1452 but the Conflicts of the Clans suggests a date as early as 1299.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Dingwall</span>

The Battle of Dingwall was a Scottish clan battle said to have taken place in the year 1411, in Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between the Clan Mackay and the Clan Donald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knockfarrel</span> Village in Ross-shire, Scotland

Knockfarrel is a village, 1 mile east of Strathpeffer, in Dingwall in Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingwall Castle</span>

Dingwall Castle was a medieval fort and royal castle in the town of Dingwall, eastern Ross-shire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunachton</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Dunachton is an estate on the north-west shore of Loch Insh in Badenoch and Strathspey, in the Highlands of Scotland. It occupies land immediately to the north of the A9 road and General Wade's Military Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnichen Stone</span>

The Dunnichen Stone is a class I Pictish symbol stone that was discovered in 1811 at Dunnichen, Angus. It probably dates to the 7th century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirriemuir sculptured stones</span> Pictish stones discovered in Scotland

The Kirriemuir Sculptured Stones are a series of Class II and III Pictish stones found in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. Their existence points to Kirriemuir being an important ecclesiastical centre in the late first millennium AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathpeffer railway station</span> Former railway station in Scotland

Strathpeffer railway station was a railway station serving the town of Strathpeffer in the county of Ross and Cromarty,, Scotland. The first station was located some distance from the town, on the Dingwall and Skye Railway line, and was opened in 1870.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Drumchatt (1501)</span>

The Battle of Drumchatt, or Druim-a-Chait, was a Scottish clan battle claimed by non-contemporary historians to have taken place in the year 1501 near Strathpeffer, in the Scottish Highlands. It was allegedly fought between the Clan Mackenzie and the Clan Munro. Mackenzie chronicles have claimed a signal victory.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Site Record for Strathpeffer, Clach An Tiompain, Strathpeffer, The Eaglestone, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Has some nice pictures, including drawings of the images
  2. Scott, Douglas, The Stones of the Pictish Peninsulas, (Hilton Trust, 2004).
  3. Gracie, James (1997). "2". the Munros. Lang Syne Publishers Ltd. pp. 18–19. ISBN   978-1-85217-080-6.
  4. Macrae, Norman (1974). The Romance Of A Royal Burgh: Dingwall's Story Of A Thousand Years. EP Publishing. p. 47.