A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. These probably developed from earlier traditions using wood, perhaps with metalwork attachments, and earlier pagan Celtic memorial stones; the Pictish stones of Scotland may also have influenced the form. The earliest surviving examples seem to come from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, which had been converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries; it remains unclear whether the form first developed in Ireland or Britain.
The Brough of Birsay is an uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay. It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern light house.
Papa Westray, also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soil has long been a draw to the island.
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.
Fortingall is a small village in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland. Its nearest sizable neighbours are Aberfeldy and Kenmore.
The pyramid of Khendjer was a pyramid built for the burial of the 13th dynasty pharaoh Khendjer, who ruled Egypt c. 1760 BC during the Second Intermediate Period. The pyramid, which is part of larger complex comprising a mortuary temple, a chapel, two enclosure walls and a subsidiary pyramid, originally stood around 37 m (121 ft) high and is now completely ruined. The pyramidion was discovered during excavations under the direction of Gustave Jéquier in 1929, indicating that the pyramid was finished during Khendjer's lifetime. It is the only pyramid known to have been completed during the 13th Dynasty.
The Hilton of Cadboll Stone is a Class II Pictish stone discovered at Hilton of Cadboll, on the East coast of the Tarbat Peninsula in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is one of the most magnificent of all Pictish cross-slabs. On the seaward-facing side was a Christian cross, and on the landward facing side are secular depictions. The latter are carved below the Pictish symbols of crescent and v-rod and double disc and Z-rod: a hunting scene including a woman wearing a large penannular brooch riding side-saddle. Like other similar stones, it can be dated to about 800 AD.
The Nigg Stone is an incomplete Class II Pictish cross-slab, perhaps dating to the end of the 8th century.
The Portmahomack sculpture fragments are the slabs and stone fragments which have been discovered at the Easter Ross settlement of Portmahomack (Tarbat), Scotland.
Kirkinch, meaning 'kirk (church) on the island' in Scots and Gaelic, is a small village in Angus, Scotland. The 'island' is the knoll on which stand the remains of the late 16th century Nevay Church and its medieval burial ground. Nevay parish is now united with Eassie parish. Originally it was an 'island' of slightly higher land surrounded by boggy country. The village houses are adjacent to the knoll, which is encompassed by the wall of the old churchyard. Some of the earliest history of the local area is represented approximately two kilometres northwest at the village of Eassie, where the Eassie Stone is displayed in a modern transparent shelter in the ruined former parish church; this finely carved Pictish cross-slab probably dates to the first half of the 8th century. The church site at Kirkinch is itself probably of early Christian origin. A simple disc-headed cross-slab found here is on display at the Meffan Institute in Forfar.
Temple Cronan is a ruined medieval oratory or chapel built near a holy well in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. The current building apparently dates from the 12th and 15th centuries, although it may partly incorporate earlier buildings or some of the masonry thereof. It may have been the site of an early Christian monastery. Temple Cronan is located in the civil parish of Carran, eight miles from Corofin and about sixteen miles from Ennis.
Kinneddar is a small settlement on the outskirts of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, near the main entrance to RAF Lossiemouth. Long predating the modern town of Lossiemouth, Kinneddar was a major monastic centre for the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu from the 6th or 7th centuries, and the source of the important collection of Pictish stones called the Drainie Carved Stones. The Kirk of Kinneddar was the cathedral of the Diocese of Moray between 1187 and 1208, and remained an important centre of diocesan administration and residence of the Bishop of Moray through the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Aberlemno Sculptured Stones are a series of Pictish standing stones originating in and around the village of Aberlemno, Angus, Scotland. Three are located in the village and a fourth, found in 1962, is on display in The McManus in Dundee. They date from the Early Medieval period. A fifth stone standing in the village has signs of carving, but is of unknown authenticity as a Pictish artefact.
Capel Lligwy is a ruined chapel near Rhos Lligwy in Anglesey, north Wales, dating back to the first half of the 12th century. The chapel's original purpose is unknown, but it might have been used as a memorial chapel or in connection with a local royal court, or as a chapel of ease in a large parish with a growing population. It was used for a time until the early 18th century as a private place of worship for a nearby house, then later fell into disrepair. The walls still remain, with some traces of render on them internally, but there is no roof.
Burghead Fort was a Pictish promontory fort on the site now occupied by the small town of Burghead in Moray, Scotland. It was one of the earliest power centres of the Picts and was three times the size of any other enclosed site in Early Medieval Scotland. The fort was probably the main centre of the Pictish Kingdom of Fortriu, flourishing with the kingdom itself from the 4th to the 9th centuries.
Knock y Doonee is a significant historical and archaeological site in the parish of Andreas on the northern coast of the Isle of Man. The site has been in ritual use for centuries. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a Christian keeill with a bilingual ogham stone and a Christian carved stone cross; and on a nearby hilltop a Viking Age boat burial.
St Boniface's Church, Papa Westray is a historic church and graveyard located on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The site of the church dates back to the Iron Age and was possibly used later as a Christian monastery. The present church was built in the 12th century and was remodeled in 1710. A 12th-century Norse hogback gravestone lies to the east of the church. Two Pictish cross-slabs were uncovered in the graveyard in the 20th century, and were later moved to museums. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1959.
Eassie Old Church is a ruined 13th-century parish church located near the village of Eassie in Angus, Scotland. Erected in the corner of the church is the Eassie Stone, a Class II Pictish stone. The cross slab was discovered in 1850 in the nearby burn. The church was abandoned after 1835 when a new church was built in the area to serve the combined parishes of Eassie and Nevay. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1921.
Kilmorgan(Irish: Cill Mhurchon) Church and Burial Ground consists of the remains of a small church, likely from the 17th century, and a now disused burial ground containing a variety of graves including family vaults. It lies in the townland of Kilmorgan, also giving its name to the Civil-Parish and Half-Parish where it resides. This church half-parish is located along the north-east of the south- Sligo barony of Corran and is part of the Catholic parish of Emlaghfad and Kilmorgan more commonly known as Ballymote parish. The Church of Ireland version is The Union of Emlaghfad and Kilmorgan.
