Frazer from the Govan Heritage Trust writes:
Hi Hatty, thanks for your comments. Yes the stones rediscovered fit very closely with the, well-researched, collection of Early Medieval stones displayed within Govan Old, the 3rd largest collection of sculpture from this period in the UK. Although the headlines inevitably hit onto the Viking connection (due to the collection of massive hogbacks held inside), Viking-Age was probably how they were described to the press.
Govan Old has a fairly well evidenced Early Medieval foundation, with carbon dating from boundary ditches and skeletal remains, indeed the earliest burials found so far are 5th/6th century.
You do make a good point though, you have to be careful about misidentifying the dates of these discoveries. Of the 3 stones rediscovered, 2 of them look to be Early Medieval, following very closely the school of sculpture which has become identified with Govan, Dumbarton, Inchinnan and the Kingdom of Strathclyde. The third looks to be similar in style to later medieval monuments from the region.
To confuse things further we have post-medieval re-use of these earlier monuments, a practice well attested at Govan between the 17th and 19th centuries. The inscriptions are clearly not 10th century, but fascinating in their own right. We have lots of questions about who felt entitled enough to lay claim to the ancients stones (the evidence points towards our heritor families) and also the selection of monuments for reuse containing both linear and elaborate crosses, when this was no longer in favour as a monument style, post-reformation.
Hope this clears up your questions. Frazer, Govan Heritage Trust
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