This squared stone pillar with encircled cross-of-arcs and inscription. Known as the Peter Stone, it was carved in the 600s.

The inscription reads LOC STI PETRI APV.STOLI, or (of) the place of Apostle Peter. On the same face is a later form of the chi-rho monogram.

The distinctive style of lettering helps to date the stone. This stone was skilfully carved at a time when Whithorn was a centre of monastic learning.

The inscription was intended to invoke the protection of Peter, one of the best-known disciples. ‘The place of Peter’, where the stone stood, was on the old road to the Isle of Whithorn and may have later become a pilgrimage site.

The stone was probably erected to mark a sacred site such as a graveyard.
This stone is unique among the collection in its date and its purpose. It is also geologically distinctive, being made from dolerite, a very hard rock which must have been difficult to carve.