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Aug-Dec 2001 - Clan MacAlpine Artifacts: The Dupplin CrossThe Dupplin Cross The Dupplin Cross is a Picto-Scoto monument said to date from the late 9th to 10th century. It is a free standing Celtic cross of Old Red Sandstone that is eight feet seven inches high and three feet one inch wide across its arms. The cross has intricate symbols carved in various panels on all four sides. The symbols include spiral work, square and diagonal key patterns of interlaced work, surrounding figures of men, animals, and birds. One panel contains a Latin inscription: CUSTANTIN SON OF WUIRGUST (Constantine son of Fergus.) Another panel has a seated man with a harp (perhaps David). A horseman with a spear, six warriors (foot soldiers) and a hunting dog leaping on its prey are carved about its base. It is considered a Class III Pictish Carving. Tradition has held that this 1200 year-old Celtic monument was commissioned by King Kenneth MacAlpin in the 9th century to illustrate his military power in his capital at Forteviot (For-tev-ee-ot.) The cross would have been visible from the Royal palace at Forteviot where King Kenneth ruled and died. A cast made in 1990 and a study of the “blank” panel on the “west” face are said to have revealed seven previously indiscernible lines of Latin. At least one scholar suggests that the new found inscriptions may connect the cross with Constantine and, that the cross may have been erected by Kenneth, or one of his sons, as an apt dedication to him. Constantine was a Pictish King who, similar to Kenneth himself but, for only a brief period, ruled both nations, the Picts and the Scots, simultaneously. The Dupplin Cross, so named because of its location on the Dupplin Estate in Perthshire, was lost to erosion of the earth underlying it. Found again, it was moved a short distance to a more stable spot near its original home and was on display in the open air. On a commanding hillside position on the north side of the River Earn, standing in the middle of a field of grain known as “Cross Park”, it overlooked Strathearn and the village of Forteviot, the ancient Pictish capital, about a mile away. But, weathering was taking its toll.  Several years of arguments for and against removal to Edinburgh museum versus a local site ensued. Finally, it was decided that this important monument should be brought under State ownership through Historic Scotland. In 1998, the Scottish Secretary ruled that the cross be taken into the care of Historic Scotland for restorative work and then placed in the new National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh for three years. After an intensive two-month restoration program, the Dupplin Cross was unveiled in September 1998. The cross was then moved to the new National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh to be on display as the Museum’s centerpiece until 2001. The Cross is scheduled to be returned to Strathearn in Perthshire to be housed in the part-medieval St. Serf's Church in Dunning, four miles from the original site where the cross was found. This is in line with Historic Scotland’s policy, which is endorsed by the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland, that where it is in the best interests of a stone to move it, this should be to a sheltered environment, in the local area if at all possible. The transfer may not be completed until December 2002. The Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland would also like to see the former site of the cross preserved and marked in some discreet way and the owners of Dupplin Estate are in agreement with this suggestion. Perhaps the Clan MacAlpine Society might be permitted to place a plaque in dedication of the site on a small pedestal. We will make inquiries in this regard. UPDATE: The Clan MacAlpine Society contacted the owners of the Dupplin Estate. They were pleased to learn of our interest and were happy to report to us that Historic Scotland has already prepared a plaque that is to be installed at the former site of the Cross. All Rights Reserved |
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