Shandwick

Shandwick

Location - The Shandwick Stone is still in its original location, and has recently, after restoration work, been enclosed in a glass structure to prevent further erosion.

This impressive Class 2 cross-slab was a landmark for local boats. It is now protected by a glass shelter. Facing the sea, its great cross is covered with bosses and interlocking spirals. On the back are five panels of decoration. At the top is a double-disc symbol above a Pictish beast, while another shows a hunting scene, fighting swordsmen and a hunter with a cross-bow. The complex patterns of serpents biting their own bodies have parallels in 8th-century metalwork from Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe. Its Gaelic name (Clach a’ Charaidh) means ‘stone of the grave-plots’. A burial ground here was recorded in 1889 as last used during the cholera epidemic of 1832 and ploughed under about 1885.