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Lybster Church of Scotland cross incised stone is a medieval carved stone found at Lybster in Caithness, northern Scotland. The monument consists of a stone bearing an incised cross, a form of Christian marker typical of the medieval period in Scotland. Such cross incised stones served religious and commemorative purposes within early medieval and medieval Scottish communities, often marking sacred sites, burial grounds or places of worship.
The stone lies on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a geological formation dating to the Middle Devonian period. This varied sequence of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone underlies much of Caithness, and the local stone would have been the natural material available to medieval craftspeople working in the area. The cross was incised into the stone surface, a technique requiring skill and suggesting the importance attached to the marker within the local Christian community.
The monument is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM613, recognising its archaeological and historical significance. The survival of such incised stones provides evidence of medieval religious practice and settlement patterns in the far north of Scotland during a formative period of Christian expansion and consolidation across the region.
Lybster, Church of Scotland, cross incised stone is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM613. View the official record →
Lybster Church of Scotland cross incised stone is a medieval carved stone found at Lybster in Caithness, northern Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM613.
Lybster, Church of Scotland, cross incised stone dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a church of scotland, cross incised stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Lybster, Church of Scotland, cross incised stone 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 SM613.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Reisgill,old bridge (0.8 km), Rhianrivach, broch 185m NNW of Achow (1.8 km), Bridge of Occumster,broch 320m SSW of (2.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Lybster, Church of Scotland, cross incised stone'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.
Lybster, Church of Scotland, cross incised stone stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.