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Loch Kinord cross slab is a carved stone monument located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, protected by Historic Environment Scotland. The slab sits upon bedrock formed from the Argyll Group, a sequence of metamorphic rocks laid down during the Neoproterozoic era. These rocks—psammite, semipelite and pelite—were originally sedimentary deposits that have since been transformed by heat and pressure into the hardened stone visible in the landscape today.
Cross slabs of this type belong to the early medieval period and represent a distinctive tradition of Christian monumental art found across northern Britain. The carving of a cross into stone served both spiritual and commemorative purposes within Pictish and Gaelic communities. The Loch Kinord example reflects the region's cultural and religious development during this formative historical period.
The monument's survival on this Aberdeenshire site, despite centuries of exposure to Scottish weather and landscape change, testifies to the durability of its stone substrate. The Argyll Group bedrock that underlies the slab has provided the geological foundation for settlement and activity around Loch Kinord, making this locality significant both for its carved stone heritage and its natural setting.
Loch Kinord,cross slab is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM64. View the official record →
Loch Kinord cross slab is a carved stone monument located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, protected by Historic Environment Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM64.
Loch Kinord,cross slab is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM64.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Old Kinord,settlements and field systems E of (0.7 km), Heugh, homestead moat and earthworks 500m SSE of (1.3 km), Monandavan,ring cairn 650m SW of (1.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Loch Kinord,cross slab's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Loch Kinord,cross slab stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.