The Cat Stane, or Catstane, is an inscribed standing stone near
Kirkliston
Kirkliston is a village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, historically within the county of West Lothian but now within the City of Edinburgh council area limits. It lies on high ground immediately north of a northward loop of the ...
, on the outskirts of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It bears a fragmentary inscription dating to the fifth or sixth centuries and was part of a funerary complex consisting of the stone itself, a
cairn
A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...
and a series of
cist
In archeology, a cist (; also kist ;
ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...
burials.
[The RCAHMS Site record for the Cat Stane.](_blank)
/ref>
The stone's Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
inscription is interpreted as a dedication to a deceased woman whose remains were interred near the stone. Dates have been ascribed to the stone and its inscription by considering the script used and the results of several excavations conducted in modern times.
The stone appears to have been erected in the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
while the inscription was added in the fifth or sixth centuries AD. During the latter period the area around modern Edinburgh was controlled by the nation known as either the Votadini
The Votadini, also known as the ''Uotadini'', ''Wotādīni'', ''Votādīni'', or ''Otadini'' were a Celtic Britons, Brittonic people of the British Iron Age, Iron Age in Great Britain. Their territory was in what is now south-east Scotland and ...
or the Gododdin
The Gododdin () were a Brittonic people of north-eastern Britannia, the area known as the Hen Ogledd or Old North (modern south-east Scotland and north-east England), in the sub-Roman period. Descendants of the Votadini, they are best known ...
.
The Cat Stane now lies within the perimeter of Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...
, making it impossible for the general public to access it. Nearby is the confluence of the Gogar Burn and the River Almond. The stone is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
.
Description
The Cat Stane is an irregular standing stone
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...
of 1.3m height. It is heavily weathered but preserves an inscription in Latin, with several lacunas.
The inscription, carved in a rough Latin script appears to read:Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland.
The usu ...
.
File:Latin Inscription on the Cat Stane at Edinburgh Airport - geograph.org.uk - 1735742.jpg, Inscription on the stone
History
The earliest description of the Cat Stane was made by the Welsh scholar Edward Lhuyd in 1699 who described it as standing on a pavement of flat stones surrounding the remains of a low oval cairn.cist
In archeology, a cist (; also kist ;
ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...
s.
RCAHMS interprets the Cat Stane as a Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
site re-used for burials in the fifth or sixth centuries.
See also
* Cat Stones of Scotland
References
{{Reflist
Scheduled monuments in Edinburgh
Archaeological sites in Edinburgh
6th century in Scotland
Standing stones in Scotland
Bronze Age sites in Scotland
Culture of medieval Scotland
Medieval inscriptions in Latin
Latin inscriptions in the United Kingdom