Latinus Stone

Squared pillar stone erected around 450 AD, which is the oldest surviving Christian memorial in Scotland.

It was erected to Latinus and his little daughter, and may have stood in the nearby early Christian cemetery. The memorial is built in a Roman style and Latinus has a Roman name, although his ancestor has a local Celtic name.

The inscription translates as We praise you, the Lord! Latinus, descendant of Barravados, aged 35, and his daughter, aged 4, made a sign here.

There are traces of the Christian chi-rho symbol above the lettering. This is carved in the early, six-armed Constantinian form, indicating the stone’s early date and its close connections to the Roman world.

This stone was later re-used in the walls of the medieval cathedral, and was rediscovered in 1890.