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Great Stone Circles, Aubrey Burl

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Monks Rig, Font Stone - Ancient Cross in Scotland in Midlothian

Submitted by uisdean on Monday, 30 April 2007  Page Views: 11168

Early Medieval (Dark Age)Site Name: Monks Rig, Font Stone
Country: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 3.841 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Midlothian Type: Ancient Cross
Nearest Town: Penicuik  Nearest Village: Nine Mile Burn
Map Ref: NT17585919
Latitude: 55.818903N  Longitude: 3.316945W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Monks Rig, Font Stone
Monks Rig, Font Stone submitted by uisdean : The Font Stone seen from the south. The Monks Road can been seen winding north towards Queensferry. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Cross in Midlothian

The Font Stone (NT17585919) lies on the crest of the Monks Rig in the Pentland Hills, by the old track through the hills from South Queensferry to Loganlee – the Monks Road. It is a roughly shaped rectangular block of Silurian grit stone measuring some 4 ft by 2 ft 8 ins with a rectangular cavity inside some 20 inches by 12 inches, and some 9 inches deep.

Despite its name, the stone is apparently not a font but a cross base. FR Coles, writing in the Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 33, 1898-9, 334-6, quotes an earlier author (Mr R Cameron, 1808) as referring to ‘the top of the cross…now lying at the bottom of the hill.’ Coles also noted two circular hollows on its eastern edge of the stone, which Cameron surmised were for the knees of pilgrims.

The site commands an extensive view to the south, and would have been an ideal place for a cross.

In 1833, two shepherds found some copper coins under the stone. The tradition continues of placing coins as offerings in the hollow; on my visit there were 2 pennies and a 5p piece.

For more information see Canmore ID 50169, which dates this cross base to the early medieval.
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Monks Rig, Font Stone
Monks Rig, Font Stone submitted by uisdean : The Font Stone seen from the NW. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Monks Rig, Font Stone
Monks Rig, Font Stone submitted by uisdean : The Monks Road descends along the ridge towards Nine Mile Burn. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Monks Rig, Font Stone
Monks Rig, Font Stone submitted by uisdean : The Font Stone seen from the East. The hollows which Cmeron thought ere for the knees of pilgrims cn be clearly seen on the nearside top surface of the stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Monks Rig, Font Stone
Monks Rig, Font Stone submitted by uisdean : The view SW from the Font Stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NT1759 : Font Stone. by Richard Webb
by Richard Webb
©2005(licence)
NT1759 : Font Stone above Nine Mile Burn by Calum McRoberts
by Calum McRoberts
©2009(licence)
NT1759 : Font Stone on Monks Rigg by Calum McRoberts
by Calum McRoberts
©2009(licence)
NT1759 : Font Stone, Monks Rig by Anthony O'Neil
by Anthony O'Neil
©2016(licence)
NT1759 : Font Stone, Monk's Rig by Richard Webb
by Richard Webb
©2017(licence)

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