Celtic Stone Sculpture

Stone sculptures are usually rough hewn slabs of stone, even boulders and in some cases well shaped symbols such as crosses that bear lettering or symbolic inscriptions, even ornamental designs such as those found in Celtic scriptures and gospels.  Celtic stone sculpture often bear inscriptions in Latin, Ogham and even Runic lettering and can usually be found close to ancient ecclesiastical sites.

Some stone sculptures have yet to be interpreted such as the Pictish stones which are notable for their elaborate decorations and symbolic characters.

The Stone Age
Today many Dolmens still exist throughout Britain. They are what remain of the Stone Age.  Even though they date before the arrival of the Celts they are considered a very important influence on Celtic standing stone art.  In Wales there are about 150 Dolmens and it is interesting to note that the most famous is to be found in Preseli as Preseli is the area where the bluestones that form Stonehenge come from.  Dolmens are considered to be the oldest man made permanent stone structure in the world, pre dating even the Egyptian pyramids.

Stone sculpture in the form of large stone crosses or high crosses began to flourish and reached its apex in the early 10th century.  Many examples still exist today and show biblical scenes carved in relief on them.  The one shown above displays knot work carved in its arms. Viking art also made an impact on the Irish in about the 11th century and examples of this can still be seen in the stone crosses found at Kilfenora and at the Rock of Cashel.

Pictish Stones
Very early from between the 5th and the 9th centuries the Pict’s made their artwork known through stone sculpture.  Called Pictish Stones, they are assigned three classes.  Class I consists of unshaped standing stones which have been incised with a series of symbols, usually about 35.  These symbols include abstracts designs, carvings of animals and objects from everyday life such as a mirror for instance.  These symbols are usually grouped in pairs while a few were notched with an extra symbol below the others.  

Class II stones are shaped cross slabs which are also carved in relief or in a combination of incision and relief.  The showed a prominent cross on one, or in rarer cases on two of the faces.  These crosses were very elaborate and were decorated with interlacing or scrollwork in the insular style.  One the other face appear Pictish symbols, also elaborately decorated but accompanied by horsemen, animals and other realistic scenes such as hunting.  These symbols often appear to label the human figures.  

Class III stones, while in the Pictish style, lack the characteristic symbols.  Most of these stones are cross slabs and date back to after the Scottish takeover of the Pictish kingdom in the 9th century.

The purpose of these Pictish stones is not well understood, they may have served as personal memorials as some bear symbols of clans and lineages while others depict ancient ceremonies and rituals.  Some have also been found that relate to burials.

The symbols may have been a system of writing and it is suggested that they were a system of constellations unique to the Pict’s.  

The Celtic High Cross

A modernistic Celtic high cross is shown above. High crosses are free standing Christian crosses hewn from stone and intricately decorated, some feature a stone ring around the intersection which forms a Celtic cross. During the Early Middle Ages they were raised in Ireland and Britain.

High crosses are primary examples of monumental works of insular art.  The date back to about the 7th century and most have the distinctive ring of the Celtic cross but are substantially larger.  The ring first served as a way to strengthen the head and arms of the cross but it soon become merely decorative.  High crosses were status symbols erected for monasteries or for sponsors.  Their construction stopped after the 12th century until the Celtic revival many centuries later.

Standing stones can be seen frequently in Wales too and unlike the High Cross and the Pictish stones, these stones bear geometric patterns and words instead of figures.

Celtic stone sculptures still stand at their original sites, but they are few and very rare as most have been removed to museums and protected sites, some even lie on private land and in private collections around the world.