Pictish Symbol Stone

The North East of Scotland has an extraordinarily rich heritage of archaeological sites, including a number of Symbol Stones (such as this one, the Brandsbutt Stone in Inverurie) left behind by the Picts.

On the whole, the Picts seem to have preferred to erect their monuments in remote, rural locations; why they chose to erect this one inside a housing development remains a mystery.

It has been suggested that the markings on the stone represent an initial design for the road layout in the vicinity, but if this is so, the pattern drawn on the stone does not correspond at all closely with the street plan that was finally adopted for this site.