EOTTASSARRHETODDEDDOTSMAQQROGODDADD 

What it means is a mystery. The last portion could be a person’s name, Rogoddadd. The rest can’t be interpreted, but the first portion might also be a personal name, giving the inscription, ‘??? ??? son of Rogoddadd’. 

Ogham seems to have been introduced to the Picts by AD 600. Unlike Latin script, it could be easily carved into wood or stone – but it was only suitable for brief messages. 

Something in the symbols 

The ogham is not the only noteworthy carving on the Dyce Symbol Stones. The older of the two stones, a pink-red granite symbol stone, carries a swimming beast above a double disc and Z-rod. Each disc features an inner circle and central dot. 

The cross-slab features a boldly-sculpted cross, entirely filled with interlace. Clustered around the cross are four symbols: 

Evidence points to Dyce as the site of an early and important Pictish church. The presence of the earlier symbol stone may suggest it was originally a pagan site that was converted to Christian use. 

Legacy of the Picts 

We don’t know a lot about the Picts, the descendants of Iron-Age tribes who occupied the area north of the Forth and Clyde estuaries in the first millennium AD. They left about 300 carved stones, mainly in the north-east of the country. The earliest of these stones date to about AD 600 and display a characteristic repertoire of symbols.  

The later group of Pictish stones, after about AD 700, were more overtly Christian. On these, the Christian cross dominates the traditional symbols. 

We don’t know why the Picts erected these stones. They might be: 

Whatever their purpose, they are skilfully executed works of art.