PLATE I.

THIS inscribed Pillar, as well as the Monument in Plate XXXVII., is now erected near to the House of
Newton, the residence of Alexander Gordon, Esq., in the parish of Culsalmond, in the district of the Garioch,
Aberdeenshire; but they were both removed from earlier, and, probably, original sites. The former stood
on a spot surrounded by wood, close to the present tollgate of Shevack, about a mile south of the House
of Newton, and has been removed from this site within the last twenty years.b From its proximity to
When the ground on

the Inn and Farm of Pitmachie, it has occasionally been called the Pitmachie Stone.
which it stood was in the course of being trenched, several graves were discovered in a sandy ridge near
to the stone, in which there was only a little black mould. These graves were described to me as having
been made in the hard gravel, without any appearance of flagstones at the sides or elsewhere. The other
stone is said to have been placed on the march between the Lands of Rothney and Newton, about half a
mile westward from the inscribed pillar, but was removed to the House of Newton upwards of sixty years ago.

An engraving of the inscribed stone appears in the second edition of Pinkerton's "Inquiry into the History of Scotland," published in 1814, and another was given by Professor Stuart in 1821 in the "Archæologia Scotica," vol. ii., p. 314. In the advertisement to this edition of his "Inquiry," Pinkerton speaks of the stone as having been recently discovered, and mentions that, while both had originally stood in the same thicket, "the one with a serpent is now removed to the adjacent House of Newton." The inscription on the face of the stone has, at various times, excited curiosity. In the time of General Vallancey, a copy of it was sent for his inspection. The copy, probably, was not made with the exactness necessary for such purposes, but he nevertheless proposed to read the first two lines of the inscription as Gylf Gomarra," or Prince Gylf, although he professed his inability to proceed farther. Various casts and many rubbings of the stone have since that time been made, but without eliciting any result. More recently, a correct copy of the inscription was submitted to Dr. Mill, late Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge, and one of the most profound eastern scholars of recent times. Dr. Mill, at the time of his lamented death, had all but completed a dissertation on the language of the inscription, and an explanation of its meaning. It appeared to him that the inscription was in the Phoenician character, and commemorated a sacrifice. It is to be hoped that this learned dissertation will yet come to light. Its conclusions received confirmation in the Author's own mind, from the circumstance that he believed he had found all the more unusual forms of the Newton inscription on pottery discovered by Mr. Layard at Babylon.

Even to unlearned eyes, the remarkable character of this inscription suggests strong resemblances to eastern alphabets; and in the Enchorial alphabet from Persepolis, given in Forster's "Harmony of Primeval Alphabets," several of the letters seem identical. Colonel Sykes also thought he could observe an identity between some of the letters of the inscription and those of the ancient Lât Alphabet of the Buddhists.

A

In this Parish were several circles of stones, one of which anciently stood in the centre of the present churchyard. There was an ancient highway in it, which is still called the Lawrence Road. Three sacred wells were in it-St. Mary's Well, on the Farm of Colpy, St. Michael's at Gateside, and another a little west of the Lady's Causeway. A large

yearly Fair, called "St. Sair's Fair," takes its name from St. Serf, who was probably the Patron Saint.

b The Stone was in its original position when I first visited it in 1835. • Pinkerton's Inquiry into the History of Scotland, Edin. 1814, vol. I. Advertisement, p xiii.

B

few of the characters bear some resemblance to letters on Welsh inscribed stones, such as that in Anglesca, said to commemorate King Catamanus, which Dr. Petrie believes to be a work of the seventh century, or the Stone of St. Cadfan at Towyn, both of which are figured in the Journal of the Cambrian Archæological Association.a

The groups of short lines which are cut on the left edge of the stone, and partially on its surface, are believed to form an inscription in the Ogham character; but of this character little that is satisfactory has as yet been determined. It is one of four Ogham inscriptions now known in Scotland. Of the other three, one is in the neighbourhood of the Newton Stone at Logie, the second is at Golspie, in Sutherland, the third at Bressay, in Shetland, and they are all given in the present collection.

The Pillar is of blue granite. It might almost appear as if part of the surface, containing the two first lines of the inscription, had been chipped off; but the depression, (marked in shade in the drawing), appears to be natural.

This interesting Pillar was brought under Lord Aberdeen's notice very soon after the inscription on it was first noticed, and his Lordship has been so good as to record his recollections of its appearance at that time in the following letter:

MY DEAR SIR,

HADDO HOUSE,
September 10, 1855.

I think it was in the year 1804 that I first saw the Newton Stone, the inscription on which I believe had been discovered by some shepherd boys in the preceding year. The stone, at that time, was situated in a fir plantation, a few paces distant from the high road, and near to the Pitmachie Turnpike. The trees have since been cut down, and the stone removed to the House of Newton.

It may appear strange that this monument, which had stood exposed for many centuries on an open moor (for the plantation was not more than fifty years old) should not earlier have received more particular attention. Indeed, this circumstance has led some to imagine that the inscription may be altogether of modern date; but for this supposition there can be no real foundation.

The stone, at the time to which I refer, might have been passed by thousands without the character being at all observed. The rugged surface, and the rude manner in which the letters are inscribed, rendered them little likely to attract notice; and being encrusted with the hard grey lichen, of precisely the same colour as the stone itself, they were, in fact, scarcely distinguishable.

It may be observed, that the existence of this lichen is an indisputable proof of the antiquity of the inscription; and it is important to record the appearance of the stone at this time, because, in consequence of the frequent tracings and rubbings off to which the letters have been submitted, they have now entirely lost their ancient surface.

This monument is probably the most interesting of the sculptured stones discovered in Scotland; and, although it has engaged the attention of various antiquaries and learned men, it has not hitherto received any satisfactory explanation. I hope the authentic publication of the inscription in our transactions may excite the interest of those who are qualified to enter into such enquiries, and may lead to some elucidation of these mysterious characters.

PLATE II.

THE MAIDEN STONE.

THIS Pillar stands in the Parish of Chapel of Garioch, about half a mile to the North-west of the Church,
on a ridge which overlooks the fertile valley of the Garioch. It is doubtful to what its name is to be
attributed, but we may safely reject the modern tradition, about a Maiden of the House of Balquhain, to
whose memory it is said to have been erected, and also the legend which connects it with a Maiden, who,
on her bridal day, when she was engaged in baking a quantity of bread, was inveigled into a wager
with a stranger, that she would bake a firlot of meal before he would form a road from the bottom
to the top of Benachee, or if she failed, she would become his own. Ere her last bannock was ready, the
road was made; on seeing which, she fled towards the wood of Pittodrie, pursued by the stranger, who was
the great foe of mankind in disguise. He was in the act of seizing her when she was turned into the
Maiden Stone, and the part of it which has been broken out of one of the sides, disappeared in the grasp
of the demon.

b

A paved road which winds in a northerly direction from the fort on the top of the neighbouring hill of Benachee is called the Maiden Causeway, and is supposed by some, not very probably, to have been a Roman road."

The stone was engraved in Gordon's "Itinerarium Septentrionale" (Plate LIX.) by Cordiner in his
"Romantic Ruins," and on a smaller scale in the Archeologia Scotica, vol. II., Plate VI. It is a hard
granite, but of a coarse grain, and the figures, through exposure, are in some places very indistinct. The
three animals above the centaur at the top can only be seen when the light is in a particular direction.
In the course of last winter a trench was made round the stone, but no sepulchral remains were found,
and it was subsequently discovered that the stone had probably been removed a few paces westward from its
first site, when the adjoining road was made. As in the case of many other similar pillars, the belief in
the country is that the depth of the Maiden Stone below ground is as great as its height above the surface.
It was found, however, that it extended only a few feet into the soil, and that it was not placed in a base
of stone. The same fact has been observed of some of the Crosses in Forfarshire.

My late friend Mr. Chalmers of Aldbar, on one occasion wrote me "What do you make of your
Maiden Stone-I mean as to its name?

"Maoidhean, prayer, intreaty, supplication.

“Maduinn, morning.

"Meadhon, the midst or centre.

"Mag. (pronounced Mai) Maidenburgh Castle, or the Castle-hill near Dunstable. May-dun. Burgh, "a Saxon addition. Mag-dun campi collis, or campus collis, but in old Celtic Mag, a dwelling, a town; in "old French Mas (Mai) Maison de campagne, a territory that belongs to one lord. (This is a secondary meaning.) (Bullet, not a very good authority, but well supported in this, and Dict. Acad. Fran. Complement, and other Celtic dicts.) The true meaning of May dun is probably a fort commanding a wide plain "or district."

The word frequently occurs in the Topography of Scotland. Thus we have Maiden Castle, the old name of Edinburgh Castle; Maiden Castle in the parish of Markinch, being an ancient fortification running along a narrow but somewhat elevated ridge of sand hills, commanding the surrounding plain: the Maiden Castle of Collessie, where are the vestiges of an ancient fort; the Maiden Castle of Roslin, on the banks of the Esk, where parts of the foundations of a fortress are to be seen; the Maiden Stone at Ayton, in Berwickshire,-a striking rock on the coast, isolated at high water. The Maiden Craig is a remarkable rock in the gorge of a little valley, about three miles from Aberdeen. There is also a "Maiden Castle" and "Maiden Way" in Cumberland.

a Statistical Account of Aberdeenshire, p. 571, 1843.
Caledonia, vol. I., p. 143. Gordon says this stone is contiguous to
a small Danish fort called "The Maiden Castle." Itinerar. Septent,
p. 162.
Near the House of Pittodrie, on the top of a slight eminence,

are yet to be seen the remains of the fort referred to. The surrounding
mound was lately dug into, when pieces of bones and charred wood
were turned up in various places.

Caledonia, vol. I., p. 149.

PLATES III. & IV.

THE three stones at Logie are built into a wall enclosing the plantations of Logie-Elphinstone, the seat of Sir James D. H. Elphinstone, Bart. They were originally placed on the adjoining Moor of Carden, having been, according to some accounts, disposed horizontally, at a little distance apart, but more probably members of a circle; and when the moor was planted, about thirty-five years ago, they were removed to their present situation. A fourth one, which was used by the tenant as a hearthstone in his kiln, was split by the heat and destroyed. It will be observed that the Ogham inscription on No. II. is disposed round a circle, instead of being written on either side of a straight line, or of the edges of the stone, as is usual in such inscriptions. The faint lines represented in the plate are also fainter in the stone than the other figures, and it may be doubted whether they are not work of a subsequent time.

THE stone at Daviot lies embedded in the ground on the roadside, nearly opposite to the Farm-house of Newton of Mounie, in the parish of Daviot. The stone has now the appearance of being earth-fast, but, more probably, was originally erect. The Church of Daviot was dedicated to St. Columba, and, under the name of Schira de Daviot, the parish was granted to the See of Aberdeen, on its translation from Murtlach.

PLATE V.

Or the two Stones in the parish of Clatt, the one, having a horse-shoe figure incised on its surface, was dug up from a depth of about six feet, in the vicinity of a number of cairns, which seem to have abounded in the neighbourhood, and to have been connected with a remarkable circle of stones by a paved road. It has been used for building purposes; and, in this way, the fish which surmounted the arch has been mostly destroyed. The other stone seems to have been first noticed, as forming part of the old wall of the burialground at Clatt; and, on the erection of a new wall, it was removed to its present position at the old School-house of Clatt. The church of Clatt was dedicated to St. Moloch, and under the name of Schira de Clat, the parish formed part of the first possessions of the See of Aberdeen on its translation by King

David I.

b

PLATE V I.

No. 1.

THE Stone at Insch is situated on the farm of Myreton, in the Parish of Insch, and is known in the country as "The Picardy Stone." There are a good many remains of stone circles in the parish, as well as several

rude pillars of stone.

No. 2.

THE Stone at Mains of Rhynie is placed on the highest point of one of the fields of that farm, and is one of a group of four which have been found in the same neighbourhood. It is known in the country as the "Cro or Crow Stone." In the united parishes of Rhynie and Essie are some remarkable cairns, as also the well-known vitrified fort on the summit of a conical hill called "The Tap o' Noth."

Statistical Account of Aberdeenshire, p. 638. Edin. 1843.
Statistical Account of Aberdeenshire, pp. 851-2.

The Southern Picts were known by the peculiar name of Piccardach," Skene's "Highlanders of Scotland," vol. I., p. 66.

d New Statistical Account of Aberdeenshire, p. 751.

PLATE VII.

THE Stones here figured are now at the Village of Rhynic, and no precise information can be got re-
garding their original site, although they seem all to have stood near to the village. Engravings of
them appeared in the Archæologia, vol. xxii., plates IV. and V. It is there stated that one of the stones,
apparently No. I., was discovered in ploughing a field near the village.

1

PLATE VIII.

No. 1.

THE Stone at Rhynie, being the fourth still remaining in that locality, is built into the wall of a barn in that village,
and is said to have been taken from the materials of the former School-house. The half of the Stone is wanting,
and it is stated in Archæologia, where the Stone is engraved, that the missing half had been recently broken in
pieces to be used in building, This was in 1826. In the old statisical account of Rhynie, it is stated, apparently
of the same monument, that "a large Stone about five feet diameter, on which there are some hieroglyphical
characters, and standing on the Moor of Rhynie, is said to have been erected in memory of an engagement
fought at a remote period, about the middle of the Parish. Part of this Stone has been lately broken."

No. 2.

THE Stone at Monymusk stands close by the public road at the farm of Nether Mains. About fifty years ago it was
placed in a field about a mile east of Monymusk House, near the river Don, where it had been from time
immemorial, and then it was removed to its present site. In the edition of "Don, a Poem" which was printed in
the beginning of this century by Charles Dawson, Schoolmaster of Kemnay, it is said that the Stone appears to
be the grave-stone of John Aikenwall, who was slain at the battle of Platcock, and we are gravely told that the
hieroglyphics should be read as follows:-

"Here lies John Aikenwall, beneath this lang Stane

At the fight of Platcock, his life from him was taen."

Monymusk was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and was the site of an ancient Culdee Monastery. There are two
stone circles in the Parish.

PLATE IX.

No. 1.

NOTHING is known of the original site of the stone at Drimmies. It is built into the wall of a byre of the farm
offices at Drimmies, in the parish of Inverury.

No. 2.

THE Cross at Dyce, is now placed in the wall surrounding the Churchyard, and is said to have been found in the
Glebe. It will be seen that another stone has been found in the churchyard wall of Dyce, (plate 39), and both
probably are not far from their original site. The Cross has been engraved in Archeologia Scotica, vol. ii.,
plate 6. Dyce was dedicated to St. Fergus, and there is a fine stone circle in the Parish.

a Vol. xxii., Plate IV.

Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. iii, pp. 131-132.

Edin., 1797, vol. xix, p. 292.

ין