The Stone of Morphie

The Stone of Morphie (sometimes known as the Stone of Morphy[1]) is a standing stone about 700 metres west of the Coast Highway (A92 road) bridge of the River North Esk[2] and 400 metres east of the historic Mill of Morphie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The stone is approximately 3.5 metres high and is unshaped and uninscripted; the base of this stone measures approximately 70 by 100 centimetres.[3]

The RCAHMS record number for the Stone of Morphie is NO76SW 6 7169 6273. According to RCAHMS,[4] the stone is "Traditionally said to mark the grave of a son of Camus, killed in a battle between the Scots and the Danes".[1] Local tradition claims the site as an alternative burial site for a leader of a Viking army that was decimated by the Scots army at the apocryphal Battle of Barry in 1010 AD.[5] The date and mention of this battle rests with Boece.[6]

Etymology

The name Morphie may be of Brittonic origin,[7] and derived from an element consanguineous to Welsh morfa, meaning "a sea-plain".[7]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stone of Morphie.
  1. 1 2 Historic Environment Scotland. "Stone Of Morphie (36379)". Canmore. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. ↑ United Kingdom Ordnance Survey Map Landranger 45, Stonehaven and Banchory, 1:50,000 scale, 2004
  3. ↑ C.Michael Hogan, Stone of Morphie, 2007, The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham)
  4. ↑ RCAHMS official record NO76SW 6 7169 6273: Stone of Morphie, 1967
  5. ↑ Keith, A. (1842). "Parish of St Cyrus or Ecclesgreig". New Statistical Account of Scotland.
  6. ↑ George Hay. 1876. History of Arbroath, to the Present Time, with Notices of the Civil and Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Neighbouring District: with notices of the civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the neighbouring district, Published by T. Buncle, 448 pages
  7. 1 2 Watson, W.J.; Taylor, Simon (1926). The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland (2011 ed.). Birlinn. p. 378. ISBN 9781906566357.

56°45′20″N 2°27′52″W / 56.7555°N 2.4644°W / 56.7555; -2.4644


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