Advie Parish Church Pictish Stone
On a snowy day in December I was really excited to show my partner (Andrew Vietze) the magic of Pictish stones, and share with him my process of research, scouting and photographing stones as I find them. We didn’t have a lot of spare time that trip but luckily there were a couple stones on our route that I hadn’t made my way to yet.
The Advie Parish Church sits on the A95 near Ballindalloch. The dusting of snow added some extra magic to the already magical feeling I always get when scouting stones. (The church gate was closed which made it a bit dicey to access as it sits on a bend on a road with fast moving traffic. So take care if you do visit.)
In photo 2 you can see an irregularly shaped gray stone in the church wall. Thats the Pictish stone fragment which is laid on its side, dates to the 7th Century and is built into the north wall on the back of the church, probably put in when it was built in 1874. It’s believed to have been found about a mile away in the old parish burying ground near the River Spey. It has weathered pretty severely, but at certain angles you can make out part of the crescent and V-rod and mirror symbols.
Here is the sketch from Canmore to help you visualize it:
As secretary of The Pictish Arts Society , I can say wholeheartedly that its a great place to be if you want to learn more about the Picts - all are welcome!