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Dyce Symbol Stones

Dyce, Aberdeenshire
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Open all year round
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Wonder at the mysterious carvings on a pair of Pictish stones, one featuring a rare ogham inscription.

The Dyce symbol stones are on display in an enclosure at the ruined kirk of St Fergus in Dyce. The older of the two, probably dating from about AD 600, is a granite symbol stone depicting a swimming beast above a cluster of symbols.

The later of the two, probably from some time after AD 700, is a cross-slab. It shows a cross boldly filled with interlace carvings, surrounded by four symbols.

The cross-slab contains an inscription in ogham, a script which seems to have been introduced to the Picts by Irish missionaries in about AD 600. Its meaning is a mystery.

Exterior view of the Dyce Symbol Stones site showing a roofless stone building within a walled graveyard. The surrounding landscape includes mature trees with autumn foliage and gravestones arranged in rows. The structure’s gable end and bellcote rise above the enclosure under an overcast sky.
Close-up of a large upright Pictish stone with incised carvings depicting a mythical beast above two concentric circles joined by a bar, known as a double-disc and Z-rod symbol. The stone surface is weathered and uneven, with faint carving lines visible against the rough texture

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