II. SOME OLD CROSSES AND UNLETTERED SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS ABERDEENSHIREN I JAMEY B . S RITCHIE, F.E.I.S., CORK. MEM. S.A. SCOT. churchyardd ol e n somI th f eo Aberdeenshirn i s e b eo t ther e ar e seen stone f smalo s l siz whicn eo inscribee har d crosse f somewhao s t unusual shape and archaic design. They are few in number and insignificant, and, as they often lie in out-of-the-way corners, are not likel attraco yt notice casuae th tth f eo l visitor. DYCE. Ther foue ear r crosses l d differenal ,ol e seee formth n i b t n ni o t , churchyar f Dyceo d , which lies abou 2 milet s distant from Dyce Statio maie th n Greae n o lin th f eo t Nort Scotlanf ho d Railwayd an , abou 8 milet s from d Aberdeenchurcol f e Dyco s h Th wa e. dedicated to St Fergus, and dated from pre-Reformation times. Though now in a ruinous condition it was in use till 1872, when a new churc erecteneighbourhoods e sitth a h wa n en i d o littla t ebu , nearer the village. In a recess in the eastern gable of the old church are preserved the two well-known symbol stones, one of which has incised upo facs nit e wha usualle ar t y know"e spectaclth s na e"d " elean - phant " symbols, whil beautifua othee s eth ha r l cros raisef so d inter- 334 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 13, 1911. laced work, round whic e carvedar h , als n reliefoi , severae th f o l familiar symbols found on incised stones. o1 f Dyce . jig.No 1.—Thi a smal s i s l a stoncros n o se which measure foos1 inche3 t heightn si inche0 1 , breadthn si inche4 d an ,s thicknessn i crose Th s. itsel s rudeli f y inciseo formetw y db d lines, intersecting at the centre, and appears to have been originally 10 inches i nsame lengtth breadth n ei d han , though, owinmutilatioe th o gt n of the stone, the upright line is only 9 inches long and the horizontal on inchese8 intersectio e Th . e crosth s enclosef si n o incise n a y db d square, with sides measurin inche5 g n lengthi s , drawn paralleo t l the lines forming the cross. In the centre of each of the four small squares thus formed oppositd an , e anglee cross eth smala th f s i so , l circular hollow about 1 inch in diameter, not unlike a shallow cup- mark. Dyce No. 2 of jig. 1.—The stone on which this cross is incised measures 2 feet 4 inches in height, 1 foot 5 inches in breadth, and 2| inches in thickness e cros arme equath e f Th ar s o s lengt.n i l ard ehan about inc1 h broad, though slightl crose th ys d ende wideitselan th s; t fa r measures 7 inches from top to bottom, and the same distance from sid o sideet . Acros e intersectioth s e armth f sno ther s carveei a d figure shaped somewhat lik squarea e , althoug s slightli t hi y longer thay one otherwa enth , bein inche2 g lengtn i s Id f han inche n i s breadth. The corners also are slightly rounded, as if formed by four circular hollows generan i t .unlik 1 no . Thus li e No 2 s . farNo , design, though it is far more carefully formed ; but, in addition, it is surrounde a circl y b de 9i inche n diameteri s , which passes «/ £• ' J_ through the centres of four smaller circles, each 4J inches in diameter. These small circles are placed opposite the angles made by the inter- section of the arms of the cross, in the same position as the hollows in No. 1. Dyce No. 3 of fig. 1.—This is the largest, the most simple, and perhaps the most modern of the Dyce crosses. The stone on which SOME OLD ABEEDEENSHIRE CROSSES. 335 incises i t i fee inche2 1 s d1 ti s high foo 1 inche, 0 1 t s broad 1d £ an inche, s thick. The cross is formed by an incised line about \ inch wide which form e outlin shafe e crossth sarmd th th t f an f teo bu so , e cros e end shafe t joineth foot e th f whicf no sth Th o o t t .e da har inche1 is1 horizontae s longth d an , l portion formin arme gth s measures Fig. 1. Stones with incised Crosses at Dyce (Nos. 1, 2, 3). 9| inche endso t frod . mcros e en arme Botth th f sshafe so d h th an t are 2J inches wide. Dyce . 4.—ThiNo smala s i s l reddish-coloured sandstone inche2 1 , s high inche6 , s broad inche2 and s, thick. Upo inscribeis nit dcrosa sof peculiar form (fig. 2), 6 inches high and 4 inches wide. The carved lines of whic s formei t hi e abou ar d t J inch broa £d dincan h deept I . is like a patriarchal cross, having two pairs of arms, those at the top 336 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 13, 1911. e shafoth f t bending slightly downwards secone Th . d pai places i r d a little above the middle of the shaft. .Each arm of the second pair Fig. 2. Cross of peculiar form at Dyce (No. 4). has a line about 2 inches long, pointing downwards at right angles to arme th f righe , o tha th d n t to en sid e eth being very faint lookingd an , SOME OLD ABERDEENSHIRE CROSSES. 337 beed ha n t i trimme f i s a d offaccideny b , otherwiser o t bottoe th t A m. shafe oth f figureo t thertw e se ar lik e eac n stepso he side on ,t the bu , y are carelessly drawn and are not very symmetrical. Near the angles formee loweth e shafy rdb th arm d t thersan foue ear r hollows, some- wha t mortbu simila, e3 deepl. thoso t rNo yn lowee e o cut e Th on r. lefe onth t sid elongateds ei almosd an , t joineextremite th o de t th f yo line which thabendn o t m sside ar downward e . th f o d s en fro e mth Just abov uppee arme th th e t sa rcrose otheparo th f stw o tr circular hollow placede sar , makin alln i .x gsi The whole figure is roughly carved, and, as the stone on which it is ver a t doe f t appeao ycu se no har b o rdt nature, perhap receives ha t si d damage while lying abouchurchyarde th n i t generan I . l appearance t figurunlike th no s anchon ei ea r turned upside down. All those four stones have been accidentally discovered at various e gravediggetimeth y sb rs bee whilha ne eh turnin g ovee r th soi n i l churchyard considerabla . r Thefo y yla e time looselbottoe th t ya m of the recess in the east gable in which the sculptured stones, already referre , werto d e protected t thebu , y have recently been built into the walls there, and are now safe from loss or destruction. It is fortunate, however, tha three th t e crosses show fign nweri 1 . e photo- graphed before they were built into the recess, for they are now in such a position that it would be very difficult to obtain satisfactory photographs of them. T MEDAN'S S CHURCHYARD. On the opposite side of the river Don, within sight of the old churchyard of Dyce, but about half a mile further up the river, stand the ruins of the old church of St Medan. A church, dedicated to e sainth t whose nam t bearsi e , occupie e sit earln dth ei y Christian presene timesth d an t, building ivy-coverew no , rooflessd n i dan s wa , use till 1703 ,churc w whe erectes ne na hwa t Hattoda f Fintrayno , a more convenient e worshipperscentrth r efo . Ther traditioa s ei n VOL. XLV. 22 338 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 13, 1911. e distric e th paris th n i f to h thae churcon t h communion cups wa s a silve f formeo r t imagou d t r e shrinMedano S heaeth f f o do e , which it was customary to carry round the parish in procession durin d seasonsba g thao e s weathe, th t r migh e rendereb t d more propitiou e farminth r sfo g community. Ther severae ear graved ol l - stones in the churchyard which surrounds the ancient "building, and • four of these are of the class described in this paper. They are placed r froe soute walfa th m th t n he ki churchyard no th sid f eo , between it and the ruined church, but much nearer to the walk than to the church. St Medan's-No. 1 (fig. 3).—The smallest one, a simple Latin cross, stands near the east end of this walk. It has been cut out of a slab of granite, smoothe sidee t rougother e e shafon e ,bu th th n f dn Th o ho to .