458 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF

* HI. NOTICELOCALITIEE TH E SCULPTUREF O STH F SO D STONE MONUMENTS AT , INCHBRAYOCH, PITMUIES, AND , IN ANGUS, AN FORDOUF D O E MEARNSTH . JERVISEN NA I Y . B PAR . , TIV ESQ. , COK. MEM. S.A. SOOT. The church of ST VIGEANS is situated about eight miles N.E. of the Cross of Camus, notice previoue th n di s paper withid an ,Germa e milna th f eo n Ocean. Accordin Hectoo gt r Boece t VigeaS , n flourished toward tente close th sth f heo century, and his cell is said to have been at Grange of Conon, about three miles ,. N.Wparise th f ho . kirk, wher esprina g well romantia n i , c grove, still retains statisticad ol s namee writee hi th Th f l o .r accoun e paristh f o ht says, that vestige t VigeansS f so ' Chapel still remain, measurin fee8 lengtg5 2 n i 1 t y b h fee breadth.n i t 1 This, however, could scarcely hav efoundatione beenth d an , s referred to were most probably those of one of the many chapels which were scattered throughout this large paris earln i h y times suppressed an , e th t da Reformation. The remains of a so-called Druidical circle is near that spot. e parisTh ht Vigeans S kir f o k , within whic t haltaSebasn S a ther o s rt -ewa tian,2 is built upon the summit of a conical mound, by the side of the river Brothoc Romanesque e sit th e churcs naturalei Th th n .i d s hi an , e stylf eo architecture, with nave, arches sidd ean , traditioaisled an s; nbuils saywa t t si much abou same th t eAbbee timth s Arbroathf ea yo vaule th tn I underneat. h r oliPetee asheSi th e f joinrs o Youngwa t o almonewh , d teachean r r with Buchana Kino t n g James VI.proprietopropertd d ol an , e f th Seaton yo f o r , near . sculpturee Onth f eo d monumentf s o here e r ratheo on , remaine s i th r, it f so th en Scotlan i verw yfe d which bear inscription.n a s s beeha n t I variousl3 y interpreted, and according to Mr Skene, ought to be read thus:—" Aroiten ire Vere t Forcur,et t " i.e., Prayer Verer Ferchair.monumentd e sfo th an tl Al 4 s e mounth n o dwer t upogo e n whic e churchth h stands faca ; t which perhaps shows tha beesite d th te ha placn a notf eo e eve Celtin i c times. Perhape th s less enigmatical of the strange groups with which they are embellished may have had reference to incidents in the lives of the ancient people to whom they were raised f whoo e countr, th mf o alson ygenerald i an , , the. personal costumes othed an , r particulars descriptivee b y ma , . 1 Vol. xii. 165. ,p . " Reg. Nig Aberb.e .d 367. ,p . * Sculptured Stone, &c., Plate sProceed * 69,70 Antiq.f o . . .82 . So ,. p vol , .i. ANTIQUARIES OF . 459

The church of INCHERAYOCH, about twelve miles N.E. of St Vigeans, and in the immediate vicinity of the town of Montrose, stood upon an island in the middle Soutth f heo Esk, nea s falit r l intGermae oth n inac s Oceanwa - t I . cessible in old times, except by boats, and at neap tides. St Braoch, patron of the kirk, gave name to the district, and in 1328, in witnessing a charter regard- inadjoinine gth g land f Rossyo s , Joh Cadioe d n u designs himself " Rector Insule Sancti Braochi." Braoch had probably been a provincial saint, most 1 likely a recluse or hermit, of whom there appears to have been many in Angus ia old times whosf o , e histor l trac yal bees eha n lost. Accordin o Wodrowgt e th , kirk was in ruins in the year 1573,2 and perhaps it had been removed to near presene th t site about soor o , n after, tha mucs ti datet i ht mor;bu e certain that name th f "eo Craig, whicy b "knowne paris w comparativelf hth o no s s hi i , y

recent origin, and that the district was known as Inchbrayoch down at least to 1664. 3 Indeed, Mr Ochterlony of Guynd, who wrote some twenty years later, says, " the whole parish is designed from the island.4 As now constituted, Craig is composed of the old ecclesiastical districts of Inch- brayoch whico t , chapelo htw s were attached Duninaldd an , . Duninalt S d dan Skeoch, although the latter is not mentioned in the ancient taxatio, appear to

e samth hav ee d tithe eth placean beed e s an belonge,non e prioryth o f dt o Rostinoth ,whil;6 churc e singularla e th d hha y romantic site upo cliina f which overhang S.We chapelo th seae tw parishe n s th . o ,e th sid s f Th referreeo . d dependents oa t upon Inchbrayoc saie hhavar o d t e born namee Mart eth S f syo t Fergus.lattee S th e nam d f th ran O e6 only localite existse th th t f ybu o ; chapel of the Virgin is preserved, both by a spring-well and a meal-mill, which bear the significant names of Mary, and also by a private burial-place of the familie f Scot o Rennysd an t , late proprietor f Usanse chapeo Th . l stooy db the sea shore, about halfway between the villages of Ferryden and Usan, and at very high tides, when the sea encroaches upon the site, quantities of human bone frequentle sar y exposed, which perhaps show time s chape e thaon eth t ta l had been surrounde placa y commof db eo addede b ny burial, ma tha t I t. e "th rock of St Skeoch," and the kirkyard of Inchbrayoch, are the only two places in the parish now used for interment. proprietard ol e Th y historyextenlande e th th Inchbrayochf f d so o t an , e ar , not very clear; but, to judge from the reputed localities of the chapels of St t leasa Fergu t Maryd S t ha included t si an , lande d th Usa f so Rossyd nan f I .

1 Reg. Vet. de Aberb., p. 339. 2 Biog. Collections, Erskine, p. 60. * BrecMn Presbyter Spottiswoo* y Records d. Miscell.MS , ,. 339 volp , ..i. Inq." , Spec., , Nos 603, .60 . Reg. Vet Aberbrothoce d . . 239p , ; Ainslie' Forfarshiref o p aMa . 460 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF addede b y , ma sotha oldest e i , tth t recorded proprietor f thesso e places werea Norman family of the name of Malherb, who possessed them in the time of Willia e Lionm th bd yan ,who m they were give vassalso nt e th s , whowa s a , custo periode th f mo , assumed their surnam eRossye froD landse e mth s Th . (for such was their name) long flourished in the district, and appear to have

been succeede e Usath nn i d portion somewhere abou e yeath t re 126th y 0b ancient famil Leightonf yo surviveo wh , d till pas e most th 1619. tn I ancien 1 t charters of Usan, the name is written Hulysham; afterwards it was con- verted intclassicaothe l for Ulysseshavenmof (most frequently written Ulis- haveri), and more lately it has been abbreviated into Usan. Perhaps in the ancient spelling, however, the true etymology is to be found from the facts, thae coasth t t abound creekn i s openingsd san becausd an , Gaelie th e c word, huil, Jcyle,r o means openin"n a g among rock Saxoe cliffs,r th so d n an "wor d ham, " housea , home placr o , refuge.f eo " curious i t I noticeo st , tha singularle th t y sculptured stone monument, which was accidentally found in the kirkyard of Inchbrayoch in 1849,2 though set up, time out of memory, as a common grave-stone, had been- previously un- notice uncared dan dbecomd forn factha I t .i ,e identified wit e familhth y and burial-ground of a Ferryden fisherman, whose descendants laid claim to it as their private property, upon the ground of its having been erected by one of their immediate progenitors. Since 1849 it has been removed from the grave- parise yarth o dt h churc Craig.f ho 3 Althoug hsligha t digression fro poine mth t more immediately under notice, it may be interesting to know, that in the year 1832, when the old steeple of the parish church of Montrose was taken down, to make way for the present elegant fabric a huma, n skeleton, nearl- yen tire, was found in the bottom. It lay at full length, was protected by rude stone slabs, and a clay urn was found at each side of the head and feet. These wer superiof eo r manufactured an , each of the four sides was perforated by a rudely shaped hole, little more tha incn na h square. One of these urns, here represented, is from the specimen preserved in the Montrose

1 Reg. Vet. de. Aberb. 337. ,p ; Miscell. Aldbar., MS. . 306p , ; Inq. Spec., Forfar., 118-22. 2 Sculptured Stone Monuments, Plate 68. There was another cross at Inchbrayoch, the upper portion of which was lately found whit3 e digging a grave. One side of the fragment contains a mounted horseman, &c., the other side bear wingeo stw d figures othed an , r ornaments kire Craigalsf s th i k o t ot a I .. ANTIQUARIE1 46 SCOTLANDF SO .

Museum, and measures about 4 inches in height, 5 inches across at the broadest part, and 3 inches at the mouth. I am not aware that urns of the same sort have before been found in Forfarshire ; and, perhaps, the four urns in one coffin, and also the manner of their perforation, are unique features in the cinerard ol f o e y us vesselsstyl d ean .

e obelisTh t PITMUIESka , near the Guthrie Junctio e Aberdeeth f no d nan Forfar Railway, is about half a mile south of the parish kirk of Guthrie. It is also withi milhile na a-hal d f Dunbarrowth lo e an f o f , whic mentiones hi n i d the first of these papers as a reputed site of the imprisonment of Guinora, the faithless queen of Prince Arthur ;' but the figures engraved upon this stone, so far as can now be discovered, are of a different character from those upon the monuments at and Meigle.2 Althoug n neahi r proximit e kir th f Guthriek o o yt , which, along wits hit

patronages, were grante Williay db Abbee Lioe mth th o nt y of Arbroathd an , which was afterwards made a prebend, of the Cathedral of , n3 o connec- tion traceabls i e betwee anciene nth t histor f thayo t plac thid ean s monument. Tradition says tha t marki t e Daneroute th s th f eo s through Angus, when no their way from Barry to , where, history says, they were totally de- feated ; and the more credulous affirm, that the stone and the locality were named Pit-muies, consequencn i Danisa f eo h genera thaf lo t name having been kille buried dan d therbor o e namth ee wh f "eo Muies. " Pitmagli, Gaelicn i , of which Pitmuies mayl>e corruptiona , signifies "hollow meadow ground,d "an nothing could better describe the physical appearance of the place. The stone at one time formed a foot-bridge over an adjoining burn, but nothing is known originas ofit l position.

The kirk of MENMUIR, situated upon the south side of the Grampians, was in diocese th Dunkeldf eo dedicated an , So dt t Aidan. The residence which Alexander III. had in this parish perhaps stood upon a rising ground south-eas well-knowe kirkth e d th f ,an o t n hill-for f Caterthuo t n numbe A withis i mileo . it f barrows ntw f ro so , havin n artificiaga l look,s i on the low ground south of the church, but these have not been investigated. In the Cottown Muir, immediately adjoining, a stone coffin was some time ago found in a dry part of the moss. It contained human bones, and a flint arrow- bea largs man'da a s ea s woodee piechanda th d f eo an , ne arro th hil f r wo to

1 Ut sup. . 188p , . 2 Sculptured Stone Monuments, Plates 72-92. dedicatekirs e 3kwa HolTh e th yo dt Virgin.—" Lindsays, e Lanth f do " 295. 2 46 PROCEEDING SOCIETE TH F F SO YO

spear was fixed firmly into it. A thin bronze hatchet was also got near the same place. In the valley to the south, betwixt the parish kirk of Menmuir and Craigend •of , an immense quantity of tumuli have from time to time been opened in the course of agricultural operations. The more important of these have been found upon the banks of the Cruick, in the vicinity of the moss of Findowrie, and the Killievair Stone. With the exception of the battle, which is recorded

havo t e taken plac t Stracathroea A.Dn i , . 1130, betwixt Angud Davian . I ds Ear Morayf o l , whe lattee himsels nth rwa fforces killedhi d s routed,an , ther1 e evidenco n othey s i an rf o ewarlik e transaction having occurre e samth en i d quarter unti Marqui e ware th lth f so Montrosef so . Findowrie, and the Killievair Stone, are about six miles due west of Stra- cathro. It is not therefore improbable but the most of the tumuli in the vicinity of that stone may be coeval with the battle of 1130; indeed the prefix Kil rather favours the idea of the place having been a cemetery.2 It is only a few years since thre four eo r stone coffins were immediate founth n di e vicinity of Killievair; and it ought to be noticed, that this is only one of a number of stone remaininw no s g which s saidi t i , , timformee on a complete t a d e circle. About fifty years ago, a coffin, constructed of rude slabs, and containing an urn, wat quitsgo e clos thao et populad t ol circle n A r .rhym e says, that " 'Twee KillievaiBlaward e nan th p La t r stanes Ther mane eli y bluidy banes;" and about four years ago, near 'the " Blawart Lape " th (full f o mila y . N e Killievair Stone) interestinn a , g discover f ancienyo t remain s madswa e upon the Law or Gallowshill of Balrownie. Upon digging into that mound, a dyke, r circlo f looso e e stones, gathered apparently fro e adjacenmth t muirs wa , ranged around the bottom. The circle, 120 feet in circumference, was filled with earth brought fro e Cruice bankmth th f sraiseo ks waterwa dd abouan , t 6 feet above the surrounding level. It contained a stone coffin, the sides of which were constructe largo tw ef o dslat r pavemeno e t stones a flag-stone; , rounded at one side, lay at the head, and the whole was covered by a heavy sla f whinstonebo e coffiTh n. contained mould mixed with small piecef o s 'bones, among which was part of a human skull. The head had been laid ex- actly in the centre of the mound, and the body lay due south. Scarcel Balrownief o w ymila La upod ee same easan th ,th n f ee o t sidth f eo Cruick, various other trace ancienf so t sepulture were foun monte latth o ds s e ha of November 1855, while grave beins wa l g taken fro uncultivaten ma d hillock

1 Hailes's Annals, i., p. 76. * Land of the Lindsays, 262. ANTIQUARIE3 46 SCOTLANDF SO .

upo fare nth Bankheadf m o . Upon that occasio graveo ntw s were founde on , of which contained a coarse clay urn, of which I then forwarded some fragments to the Society's Museum, which I received from the proprietor, Mr Carnegy Arbuthnott, of Balnamoon. These graves were about 9 feet apart, and nearly 2 feet belo surfacee coffinswe th Th ., which were about 3 J feet long \d 8 an , inches broad, were constructed of rough slabs of red sandstone. Only some piece charref so d wood wer t abou ego e grav th t e which containe urne d dth an , bit bonesf so , much decayed, were othere founth n di .

These remains were found within the boundary of the ancient forest of Kilgary whicn i , h stoo dhermitagea a chapel d an , , dedicate Virgin.e th o dt 1 Pete Spaldinge rd betrayeo wh , d Berwick e int Scotshande e th oth th d f sha ,o keepershi f thapo t forset severad an , l same landth en si neighbourhood, from Robert the Bruce, as a reward for that service. It appears, however, that Spaldint alloweno s enjoo dt gwa y those privilege greay an tr lengtfo s f ho e Scotstimeth vere r th , fo y; peopl t shortlbu ed whoyha before mh e served, had him put to death—facts which are thus briefly narrated in Hardyne's Chronicle . 308(p — ): castele "Th l the Berwykf no e antownee dth , Kynge Robert gatte, after strong greatd ean e defence, By treaty with [peace Spaldyng] and treason, The Wednesdye before Easter's reuerence, When that traitour, without long suspence, Betraye townee d th intd oan , Scotland went: ScottesBy traytoura slain, to as appent." Whether Spalding was assassinated in the forest of Kilgary, or where, is unre- corded s knowna ,r andcairfa o n , o r hillocs localite ,no th n ki y preserves hi s name. Stillcertais i t i , n tha lasf to towardtd centuryen e sth , whe "Blue nth e Cairn" (whic withis hwa boundare nth thaf yo t forest openeds founs wa ) wa dt i , contaio t nrudela y constructed stone coffin bakef o whic n i n , dur hn a ther s ewa clay t anotheA . r periodfror same fa mt th eno , spot saids i golhava ,o p t dcu e been found, and a wily chapman having bought it for old brass from the ignorant finder, the foundation of a fortune was laid, which the chapman's descendants enjoy at the present time. The forest and chapel of Kilgary were named from a burn which rises out of the bogs or marshes of the hill of , east of Brown Caterthun ; and in a line with that burn, stretching fro Wese mth t Watenorthe site th th e n o rt ,o of the old chapel of Kilgary on the south, are the remains of a strong earthen 1 Till within these few year name sth Kilgarf eo quits ywa e unknow districte th r n ni M . C. Arbuthnott, however s latelha , y give name fara nth o met which coursn isi f beineo g anciene para th f f mado o t t t foresteou . 464 PROCEEDING THP SO E SOCIETF YO

dyk r fenceo e 0 fee1 , t froo t high maboud 6 an fee,5 1 t t e basebroath t .a d Tradition says that this fence stretched continuously from s hila seao t lt bu ; estate th Dunlappif eo separata s ewa e property durin mose gth t remote periods of our history, it is probable that the dyke formed merely the boundary be- twix forese th t Kilgar f lordshie o t th d Dunlappief yan po stil s marci e t lth I . h between Menmui Dunlappied an r separata , whicd ol f ho e s lasparishwa t w no , united to .

scarceln ca t I Lsupposee yb sculptureo d tw tha e th t d stoneparise th t sa h kirk of Menmuir coul1 d have belonge e chapetimy th an o e Kilgart f t s dlo i a r no y; there anythin identifo gt y them either wit slaughtee hth f Spaldingro r wito , h the battle of 1130. It is well known, that from earliest date down to the days of King Robert the Bruce, the lands of Menmuir were governed by thanes, or king's stewards; and we have already seen that Alexander III. had a residence there—facts, however, which throw no light upon the origin of these sculptures.

The church of FORDOXJN, where St Palladius long ministered, died, and was buried midlana s i , d parise countth n hf Kincardinei y o e kir romanTh s ki . - tically situated upon the eastern slope of the hill of Strathfinla, overhanging the mountain stream of the Luther. Within the chapel of St Palladius, which ismalsa l buildin graveyarde th n gi e boneth , f thaso t sain e sai havar to dt e been deposited in a nich in the east end of the building. The nich is now built d surroundeupan , a plai y b nd moulding. Ther s alsi e oa curiou s piscina withie nth chapel, here represented. It is of rude a singl f o masonry et stoneou t cu ,, which measures 2 feet by 18 inches ; the arch is 18 inche sinche1 high1 d s,an broad locallys i t I . believed that this chapel was erected at the time of the reputed death of St Palladius, in A.D. 452; and, keeping thi n viewsi , some think thaGothie th t cpiscine arcth f ho s a i earliese th on f eo t known examplee th f o s kind existin Scotlandgn i ; ideas, howeverr ,fo which there gooappearo n de b ground o st . Accordin Butlergo t relice ,th Palladiuf so s wer egreao s hel n i td estee y Bishomb p Scheve t AndrewsS f o z n whosi , e diocese the church was situated, that he had them 1 Sculptured Stone Monuments, Plates 92-132.

ANTIQUARIE5 46 SCOTLANDF SO . collected together, and deposited in a silver shrine set with diamonds. 1 To this period, most probably, the oldest part of the chapel also belongs ; and, according to tradition, the shrine was afterwards stolen by the sacrilegious knight of Pitarrow, from which time, it is said, the family fortunes of the Wisharts began to decline. barond ol e f Glenfarquhaso Th Monboddd an r o bury underneath this chapel, which is now used as a female school; and at the entrance door stands a sculp- tured stone, carve onle dth yupos i side.example t nI on f thoseo e singular 2 monuments which is known in the Mearns, if we except the fragments found in the neighbourhood of Stonehaven, now preserved at Banchory House. The Fordoun Stone is said to have been raised to commemorate the death of King Kenneth. III., who, accordin traditiongo t killes ,thawa dn i t neighbourhood, through the stratagem of Finella, wife of the Thane of the Mearns. Of this tragedy Wyntown give followine sth g account:—

thros "y A Merny e wda th a n so Kyne way y rydans Th he g wa ,s dhy Of hys awyne Curt al suddanly Agayne hym ras a cumpany Into the Towne of Fethyrkerne: fecho T t wyttham hihy war yheruea es , And he agayne thame faucht sa fast; Bot he thare slayne was at the last." This murde sais i r havo dt e been committed whil kin e passins eth gwa g either to or from the shrine of St Palladius, to which, among several other shrines, he went, by way of penance, for the part he had in the assassination of DufFus. But the scene of King Kenneth's murder is laid (by Tytler, I think) in another and differen tcountry—ae parth f to t Stracathro, near Brechin. Apart from the traditions of the murder of the king; of St Palladius hav- ing ministere parise t Fordoundth a f ho havind an , g given t birtErchadS o ht , Pictisa h saint, whose 24tn feas o Augustf ho s i t —it oughnoticee b o t d that 3 the kirk of Fordonn stands nearly equi-distant from a Roman camp on the southso-callea d an , d Druidical northe circl formee th n Th e i .thesef o r , which has been often described, occupies about 2 acres, and owing to the good taste of Viscount Arbuthnott t planted i reserve o d wh ha , dykee e sited th ,d th an ,san ditches are yet in pretty good preservation. Some years ago a Roman (?) spear head, and the bronze top of a banner-staff, were found within the camp, the last of which relics is in the possession of Mr Carnegie of Rediall. 1 Lives of the Saints (PALLADIUS), July 6. 2 Sculp. Stone Monuments, Plate 67. 3 Aberdeen Breviary. 466 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OK

The " Druidical" circle stands upon a hill called " the Herscha." It is but a single circle, abou yard5 2 t diametern si consistd largx an , si f eso boulderst I . was carefully searched towards the close of the year 1855, but no vestige of early sepulture was found within it. Upon the same hill, about 50 yards to the westward remaine th hillocke a f ar , so whichn i , , about sixteen years ago, while diggin r gravelgfo n immensa , e rude bloc f stonk o s found ewa 5 1 , o frot 2 m1 tons weight. It lay near the middle of the knoll; and on being blown to pieces, e covenicela th f e o founrs b y wa constructeo t dt i d grave e e sideth Th f so . grave were compose rudf do e slabs, cemented together with clays , whichwa I s a , told by a person who was present at the discovery, bore the impress of the fingers of the builders. The bottom of the grave was also of baked clay, and quantita y la d f blacyo en e kin th clammy earth Hersche Th . a standse th t a

entrance of the fine pastoral district of Glenfarquhar, in which the monks of the Abbey of Arbroath had a right of pasture in old times, an1 d where more lately stoo castl dthe birth-plac eand Lorthe deof Presidents Falconer. Beside e Romath s n camp, already mentioned e remain, ther- th e an ear f so other at Clattering Brigs, on the east side of the parish, engraved in Chalmers' Caledonia.2 There is also a British fort at the foot of the old Roman pass of Cairn o' Mount, overlooking the ruins of the ancient castle of Kincardine. This castle (which is so often mentioned in the charters of King William the Lion, and in those of some of his successors, and in which also King Edward I. abode on at least two different occasions, and where he had the scroll of Baliol's resig- natiokingdoe th f no m prepare 1296)n di , still showsremainss it y b , ,d thaha t ti been of old a place of considerable size and strength.