The Picts: A tiny Angus village, its carved stones and an ancient, sacred place

The road to Aberlemno feels like a very old road indeed.

Running alongside the Strathmore Valley, the hills which bound this place speak of the mighty Iron Age forts that lined the ridges, which sometimes blazed with fire, and the Romans who tread between their marching camps below. It is a place of look-outs and advantage, the landscape providing a first and natural line of defence against enemies and invaders.

Arrive in Aberlemno, on its windy and elevated spot overlooking the valley, and there is an immediate sense this has long been a coveted spot.

It was, for hundreds of years, a fertile and sacred place of the Picts, who emerged north of the Forth at the time of the Romans and whose culture lasted for more than 500 years.

Aberlemno Kirk, where the battle scene stone stands in the churchyard. PIC: www.geograph.org/Kim Traynor | geograph.org/Kim Traynor

In Aberlemno, some of their finest ever stones - their markers of people, place, time and sometimes triumphs - were left behind. Given the detail on some of the stones, it is believed it was a place where kings were laid to rest during the Pictish period.

Today, the presence of the Picts in the village retains its hold. Drive in and their stones are found at the roadside, in the same place it is thought they were put in the ground 1,200 years ago, making it one of few places in Scotland where stones can be seen where the Picts left them.

A mid-18th Century depiction of the Picts, who emerged in the north and east of Scotland during the time of Roman and whose culture lasted more than 500 years. PIC: Hulton/Archive/Getty | Getty Images

Norman Atkinson, a past chair of the Pictish Arts Society and former head of museum and cultural services in Angus, said: "The important things about the site, about Aberlemno, are the views over Strathmore. That was really the dual carriageway from Roman times. Because you are at a fair old height at Aberlemno, you can see most of the hillforts in Angus there, so if you wanted to leave signals of fire, you would have a fantastic view.

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"It is a great view point, but also there is the question of what Aberlemno was all about. It was not a settlement, but it was a sacred place.

"We can say it was a Royal burial site for the Picts. When you look at the cross slabs, you can see that you have got hunting and battle scenes. We know we are talking about kings."

King Ecgfrith of Northumbira depicted in Historia Ecclesiastica visiting St Cuthbert at Lindisfarne. Some believe he was killed by the Picts at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, near Aberlemno, in 685 with the victory depicted in the 'battle scene' stone, which is found in the village churchyard. PIC: Picryl / ~CC. | CC

Down in the church yard, the ‘Battle Stone’ beautifully details what some believe was the Pictish victory in 685 over the Northumbrians at Dun Nechtain, a few miles away, when King Ecgfrith - the most powerful warrior of the day - was killed in a move that proved pivotal to the creation of Scotland itself.

In the car park of the village hall, another stone lies quite casually on the ground, covered in cup and ring marks. It is part of a recent discovery that speaks of Aberlemno being an important place before the emergence of the Picts.

A collection of replica Pictish jewellery held by the Pictish Room at Aberlemno Village Hall, which is run by volunteers. PIC: Contributed. | Contributed

Today, the village works hard to protect its Pictish history. A key figure in this is resident Isabelle Davies, who meets me at the Village Hall, which twins as a little museum dedicated to Aberlemnno’s long history, At the hall in 2025, Picts and Pilates meet, as well as dog training classes, quizzes and plant sales.

Norman Atkinson, of the Pictish Arts Society, at the roadside stone in Aberlemno. The stone, which is covered in winter, was recently blown over in high winds. PIC: Contributed. | Contributed

Mrs Davies has lived in the village since 1989 and has seen the interest in the Picts, the people and their culture, grow. Soon, thanks to a Scottish Government grant, the museum and visitor experience is to move up a gear, with villagers at the helm of its expansion.

Mrs Davies said: “Aberlemno is now definitely a stopping off point. People choose to come and see our stones. These stones are some of the best and some of the few that are still outside, so you see them in a landscape context. A lot of them are in museums - and they lose some of their power.

“There is more of an interest now in the Picts as people, rather than just the artefacts they left behind. And there was obviously something about this place.”

On either side of the road to Aberlemno - where the carved stones date from around 500 to 800AD - traces of two key hillforts can be seen, enhancing the picture of life here more than 1,500 years ago.

Finavon, to the west of the village, was a whirl of activity where evidence of pot-making, spinning and metal work has been discovered. The fort was destroyed by a great fire - the heat so great that it melted or vitrified the rocks - some time between the early fourth to late fifth century.

From Finavon, Turin Hill can be seen a short distance away to the south east. A large Iron Age complex can be found here, although it is known the hilltop was occupied long before that and likely a place of residence during the Bronze Age.

Mrs Davies said: “The road [to Aberlemnno] is a very old one - it goes between two hill forts at Turin and Finavon

“It looks like this has been an important centre in its time and I think it was a wealthy area, it was a productive area and there was this great track. And tracks are always important in terms of who controls the track.”

Aberlemno is believed to have been a religious centre for the Picts, with much curiosity about what could lie under the parish church, the third church built on the same site.

While the earliest Aberlemno stones depict Pictish symbols such as the serpent, the double disc, the Z-rod and the mirror and comb, the later stones show detailed and finely carved Christian iconography.

Mrs Davies said: “It is likely that the church on the site here was a place of importance and possibly power and certainly religious significance.

“The stones make up a huge collection. There are also some very high-quality stones, they cover hundreds of years and the evolution of the Picts. But there must have been wealth and power here to have these things made. The standard of workmanship is incredible, so people had power to access this. The stones are statements of something.”

The stones remain covered over winter and are uncovered for visitors at the start of April. It is hoped archaeological research due to be carried out beneath one of the key stones, which toppled over in high winds earlier this year, could reveal more about the ancient landscape.

Meanwhile, the village hall, which opens up once a month, is soon due to significantly upgrade what it can offer visitors, while guided walks will run over the summer.

Mrs Davies said: “We are looking to improve the visitor experience. We are very small, we can’t do a huge amount, but we can help people enjoy and understand what they get when they come here.

"This is wider than just Angus and Scotland. We get visitors and queries from all over the world . It is lovely to be able to meet and greet these people and welcome them to Aberlemno.

“It is quite amazing how widespread our visitors are. They are coming not just from Europe, they are coming from Japan, the States, South America - and it is quite humbling."