The official web site of the nearby chapel- check out the dragons of Neifelheim at the base of the Apprentice Pillar
Martin
The whole glen around here is filled with legend and peopled with ghosts and spirits. Rosslyn Chapel is a mysterious and fascinating place. It has been argued that this is not a Christian site at all, but a temple to Freemasonary. The vaults under the chapel are thought to contain the Holy Grail, fragments of the cross that Christ was apparently crucified on, the ark of the Covenant, the remains of a UFO and scrolls which could throw the whole of Christianity into turmoil (if it isn’t already). The chapel contains carvings of Green Men, American plants (which pre-date the Columbus crossing) and eight dragons at the base of the very famous Apprentice Pillar. These are thought to be eight dragons of Neifelheim which were said to lie at the base of Yggdrasil. Balls of light have been seen moving around the area of the chapel and the ghost of a monk has been seen on many occasions both inside and outside the chapel. Roslin Castle has a ghost dog which haunts and howls here, along with a White Lady. The drawbridge to the castle itself has also been the site of an apparition of a black knight on a black horse which gallops off the drawbridge- legend has it that the hoof prints of the horse can be seen on the vertical rocks upon which the drawbridge has been built- not that we looked- far too steep a drop! We did, however have a strange experience here…another time methinks.
Roslin Glen Fish Carving
Monday 24/12/01
I left Kat and Aed following a path along the top of the glen as it was a rather steep descent to get to this rock. I actually remember being here about nine years ago- but never knew about this Iron Age carving. I knew about this carving that looks kinda like a face- is this it? Lovers Leap rock is a large horizontal slab perched precariously above the River North Esk and is literally covered in carvings- all of which, unfortunately, seem to be very much more recent. Nevertheless, I scoured the top and sides of this rock in search of the fish, but nothing- still the only carving that looks like it could be Iron Age is the face-like carving. I crouched beside it and looked for a while- I guess it actually does look like a fish face on! Rather cool little piece of rock art anyways.
Directions
Follow the A701 south out of Edinburgh. Pass Ikea on the right and head through Bilston. At the roundabout in Bilston take a left through Roslin. Go down the main street which turns sharp right and look out for the Roslin Glen signs before the main road turns right again. Down this steep road and park in the designated car park at approximately NT272628. Take the path across the river, under the castle drawbridge and follow it northeast along by the river. Paths lead off uphill, but stick by the river- Lovers Leap is the only really large horizontal rock slab down here. It’s down the cliff from General Monck’s Battery- a large square remain by the top path. The carving is down next to the path on the vertical rock.
Monday 24/12/01
We stopped off here on our way home from Roslin Glen. This is about the third time I’ve visited this stone- now it has a small black iron railing surrounding it which completely destroys any atmosphere or decent photo! What on earth possessed them to do this? Is it to protect the Christians on their way to church??!!! The stone is slowly getting covered in a thick layer of moss- although there’s meant to be about 26 cup marks on it I could only count about 20 -odd. I think five or six are also ring marked, although it’s difficult to say due to the moss. Saying all that, practically the whole surface is covered in symbols. Here stands this small stone, surrounded by an iron fence, next to the church standing above it and yet, nestled at the base of the church tower, this stone has more symbolism, power and spirituality than the building it sits beside.
‘Of greater age than any of the other memorials of the Parish and the Ward are the four Standing Stones of Liberton. One of them is in the old burial-ground at Niddrie-Marischal. Another stands close to the Old Dalkieth Road at Craigend, in what was once known as Kirklands, now a market-garden. The third, formerly built into a wall at Nether Liberton, has been re-erected on the King’s Knowe, behind the stables of The Inch. The fourth is in the grounds of Mortonhall.‘
From ‘The Fringes of Edinburgh’ by John Geddie (date unknown) pages 155-156.
These four stones are Niddrie, Ravenswood Avenue, Cat Stane at the Inch and the Bore Stane.
Around this stone there are 32 streets named in its honour.
The plaque reads;
‘The Buckstane. This marchstone, a relic of feudal times, occupied a site on the Roman road about 250 yards north from this spot. By tradition the name was derived from the stone having marked the place where the buckhounds were unleashed when the King of Scotland hunted in this region.
The Buck Stane
Friday 21/12/01
…and I thought we’d never see the sun this Solstice day. It was lashing down this morning and the prospect of an afternoon trip up here looked very wet! But as I write I’m being dazzled by the Solstice sun that is hanging just above the silhouette of the Pentland Hills, and the SW face of the Bore Stane watches the sunset. This stone sits in a beautiful little niche just off the very busy Braid Hills Road. A fine cobbled path, plaque set in the wall above the stone and flowerbeds either side. It originally stood further up the hill, but was moved here some time in the 20th century. As with most of these re-positionings, I am in hope that the alignments remained the same. The stone is about 3.5 foot tall and almost square in section. It has a very deep (non-megalithic) cup hole on the very top. Originally this stone would have been in view of the Braid Hills and its cup marked rocks, but the finest view would have been (and still is) to the mighty Pentlands. I leave this stone warm, happy and with the sun still dazzling in my eyes- Happy Solstice!
The plaque, which has now disappeared, used to read;
‘Catstane. After various vicissitudes this stone was erected here in 1919, near its original site.’ This was from an OS field report of 10 March 1954. They also noted that its original position could not be established
This stone originally (according to the RCAHMS) stood near the junction of Dalkeith and Liberton Roads at Nether Liberton Farm. It was moved at the beginning of the 19th century and lay in a field until 1891 when it was built into a wall on Gilmerton Road. It was then set up in its present position by the owner of Inch House.
Cat Stane, Inch (AKA Kingsinch School)
Thursday 20/12/01
I think this is the only site I’ve visited where I had to make arrangements to visit days in advance- but with good cause as it now stands in the grounds of a school. I was greeted by a very nice and enthusiastic teacher by the name of Mrs. Stewart. She had some great theories about this stone- alignments with both nearby stones and Arthurs Seat, grave marker, route marker, etc. This stone is one of the thinnest I’ve seen, certainly in the Lothians- only about 7” in places. Adam McLean (’Standing Stones of the Lothians’) describes it as only being about two foot high, but it’s actually around 4.5 to 5 foot. It may originally have stood at the junction of Dalkeith and Liberton Roads, although Mrs. Stewart reckons its original site may not have been far from where it now stands. Where it does stand now commands a great view of Arthurs Seat- its broadest face looking upon the great hill. I asked about a plaque that was meant to be here, but this has long since disappeared. This stone has obviously been used as a gatepost on many occasions- there are still lead and iron lumps all over the northernmost face. Afterwards we exchanged details and I was introduced to the headmistress- all v. friendly and enthusiastic folk- nice end to a great day discovering these little known stones of South Edinburgh.
Note- this stone stands within locked school grounds. You *must* make prior arrangements if you wish to visit. The headmistress said that although entry is free, all donations to school funds gratefully received!
The stone has been moved a few yards from its original position that was where the road now is. It was set in concrete and protected by an iron railing during the time of the construction of the housing scheme.
Ravenswood Avenue Standing Stone
Thursday 20/12/01
Almost at the end of this street it stands- almost 7 foot tall, but surrounded by a circular iron fence and stuck in a cul-de-sac. On the way along here I thought I was in for a mauling as there were two massive Alsatians roaming loose, but luckily they found a bin bag and tore that to shreds instead of me! Before these houses were built this stone would have had clear views to both Arthurs Seat and the Pentlands, but now you just catch glimpses of them through gaps in between the houses. This stone has also been moved, but I’m hopeful in thinking that its alignment remained the same- it’s almost square in plan and the northernmost face looks towards Arthurs Seat. A cracking great stone, but all the atmosphere of the site is ruined by the fence and the housing scheme- at least it’s still here I s’pose.
Directions
Take the 3/3A or 29 bus from Princes Street heading south. Pass Cameron Toll and take the bus up Gilmerton Road. Get off just past Walter Scott Avenue which is on the left. Ravenswood Avenue is the first right off here.
Niddrie House Standing Stone
Thursday 20/12/01
Ha! Found it! I had two sets of map co-ordinates for this stone and as it happens, both of them were wrong. One set from the RCAHMS site (from the OS originally) is actually north of here, the other set from Adam McLeans ‘Standing Stones of the Lothians’ is east of this spot. The hand of fate had a say in me finding this stone- I missed my bus stop- I was originally going to check out the OS co-ordinate area to the north of here. However, I stayed on the bus and as it turned left into its terminus I caught a glimpse of the Niddrie House Standing Stone! As it turns out, the description in the ‘Standing Stones of the Lothians’ was not bad, but the stone is now no longer in the burial ground. Within sight of Arthurs Seat and in the shadow of a yew tree, it sits next to the pavement just behind a utilities hut. It’s almost been overgrown by ivy and brambles which is no bad thing as the conspicuous stones in the graveyard have almost all been smashed and/or covered in paint. The stone itself is about 4 foot tall, about the same wide but only about 1 and a half foot thick- it appears to be aligned approximately N/S. It’s really weathered and has great grooves running down it. Yes- there are cup marks on it (it’s a conglomerate stone) but at the bottom right of the stone there are about five cup marks which look classically megalithic to me. So- here it hides in a corner of Niddire, slowly disappearing under vegetation, dog shit and litter. But, as I said, it’s mebbe for the best that it blends in to its surroundings.
The OS-nil, TKnow-one!
Directions
Take the number 21 bus from Princes Street heading south towards Craigmillar and Niddrie. Get off at the terminus after it turns off left from Greendykes Road into Niddrie House Avenue. The stone is just off the pavement next to the fenced-off burial ground to the left of the school. It sits behind some sort of utilities buildings (electricity?).
The plaque reads;
‘In which the Royal Standard was last pitched for the muster of the Scottish army on the Borough Muir before the Battle of Flodden, 1513. It long lay in the adjoining field, was then built into the wall near this spot and finally placed here by Sir John Stuart Forbes of Pitsligo, 1852.
Highest and midmost was desiret,
The Royal Banner floating wide,
The staff a pine tree strong and straight,
Pitch’d deeply in a massive stone,
Which still in memory is shown,
Yet bent beneath the Standards weight
Marmion.‘
This stone is a slab of coarse red freestone almost 5 foot by 2 foot and nearly 1 foot wide. It’s badly weathered and none of the cup marks are thought to be artificial. There is no evidence that there was a muster on the Borough Muir in 1513. It’s been suggested, from its dimensions, that this is possibly the cover of a cist.
The Bore Stane
Thursday 20/12/01
I’m sure there was snow blowing through whilst writing down the details of the plaque- I had to take my gloves off to write which was a bad idea- they’ve just started to get feeling back in them now. This is another curious Edinburgh site- whether or not this stone was ever meant to be upright, we’ll never know for sure. It was found in a nearby field, but not noted whether it was recumbent or vertical. It is, however, thought to be a cist cover. It now stands next to a church that is now part of Napier University- it’s high up on the edge of a wall overlooking Morningside Road. It must be easily missed by the thousands of folk who pass this spot every day. I used to say down these parts and have stopped for a wee look a few times. This stone is a great deep red and has some very deep cup-like markings over it- but these are thought to be natural.
This standing stone is said to mark the grave of Diarmid, a mythical hero who was associated with Finn MacCool.
This site may possibly mark the Winter Solstice sunset as the sun sets in the Paps of Jura.
Legend has it that Maes Howe is protected by a being called Hogboy.
This was known as ‘Dvergasteinn’ by the Viking raiders who settled on Hoy- the home of dwarfs.
Pic from the Stone Pages Ancient Scotland Tour
‘According to one local legend, it was said that the area was inhabited by a giant called Etin or Edin. He had three heads and was blamed for the loss of cattle, sheep and people. Many tried to kill him, only to fail miserably. Eventually three brothers attempted to try to kill the giant, but they each decided to try separately. As the first brother left, he gave the others a knife which he said would shine if all was well but would rust if he was in danger. The lad set off and came to the giant’s broch. The giant decided to ask the boy questions about Scottish history- none of which he could answer. The giant then turned the boy to stone. The second brother noticed the knife had rusted and set off to find him. The outcome was the same for him, and he was turned to stone. Then the third brother decided he had to find the other two. On the road, the third lad met a poor old woman, with whom he shared his food. She told him many stories about Scottish history, and from a bag she took out a large bundle which she told the boy to use if he was in danger. When the lad arrived at the broch, the giant pulled him in and before eating him asked him questions about Scottish history. This time the brother was able to answer the questions. The giant, somewhat surprised, was going to kill the boy anyway. But the lad pulled out a double-headed axe from the old woman’s bundle. Bringing it down on the giant, he severed all three heads at once. The two brothers were then restored, as were all the other missing people.‘
From ‘Myth and Magic: Scotland’s Ancient Beliefs and Sacred Places’ by Joyce Miller 2000.
It is thought that the fortifications were built first (pre-Roman Iron Age), then the broch (around 100 to 140 CE) followed by the settlement under the pax Romana of about 140 to 180 CE. The broch and some of the smaller structures were excavated numerous times before 1879. All finds are now in the National Museum of Scotland. These consist of a stone whorl, piece of jet ring, an amber bead, fragment of translucent glass bracelet, bones, teeth and oyster shells.
The fort consists of a double rampart up to 4.5 metres in height in places and covering an oval area of around 135 metres by 75 metres. The overall diameter of the broch is around 27 metres which is very large for one of these sites.
Odin’s Hall Broch (AKA Edinshall, Woden or Wooden)
November 1996
One of the main reasons for this trip was to convert the castle-buffs Jam n Sam to brochs- and I think it worked! We also came here cos it’s one of the nearest brochs to Edinburgh and one of the best preserved in southern Scotland. The drive down here is amazing- passing through the megalithic wonderland of Whiteadder. We, of course, got lost- I was driving so that’s not great surprise! We stopped to ask which was the quickest way to the site as we knew we weren’t that far off. The local said ‘oh- you mean the brocchhhhkkkkkkcckkkhh’- yeh- one n the same asshole. Excuse me for being Lowland Scots. We parked the car and headed across the fields along a fabby path by the Whiteadder Water. This is a complex site comprising of the broch itself as well as a fort and settlements that surround the broch. The walls of this one don’t quite match the dizzying heights of those in the northwest, but they still stand about 2 metres high. Saying that, this broch is much larger (at about 17 metres in diameter) than its northern counterparts. The wall is mega thick (5.2 metres) as with all of these places. We stopped to have (a very cold) lunch here and feasted on macaroni cheese pies- class! Jam was hyper that day and we all went a bit mad hiding in the guard cells, jumping off the walls and generally running about like a bunch of loonies! A great day was had by all and two more folk won over by these places.
Note- all maps, books etc refer to this site as Edin’s Hall, but it is assumed that all alternative names are derived from Odin.
I made a field visit to this site yesterday in the hope that this stone had not been destroyed in the process of the modern houses been built here- and found it- 26 years after the OS reported it gone! Contacted the RCAHMS as their database states that no trace of this stone can now be found;
Yesterday I took the opportunity to try and find Niddrie House Standing
Stone (NMRS Number: NT27SE 199). I noted from the CANMORE database that the
last entry for this stone states;
‘No trace in an area of modern housing development’- OS report August 1975.
However, as fate would have it, I missed the bus stop and when turning into
the terminus, noticed the stone next to the pavement. It appears that the
map co-ords on the database are wrong- NT298715- I think it should be NT2987
7125 (using 1:25000 scale, not GPS unfortunately). I also had another set of
co-ords for this stone from Adam McLeans book ‘The Standing Stones of the
Lothians’- however these were also slightly west.
The stone now stands at the corner of Greendykes Road and Niddrie House
Avenue, just a couple of metres from the main road and behind a utilities
buildings (electricity?) and just outside a small burial ground. The
dimensions on CANMORE are approx correct and I noticed the cupmarkings on
the right at the base of the stone- certainly at least one of them looks
natural, but there were around 5 others which looked classically megalithic.
I hope the above information is of some use.
The RCAHMS replied;
Thank you very much for taking the time to contact us about the Niddrie standing stone. We are delighted to hear that it is still visible and we will update the information in the database early in the New Year.
more site info
the Stone Pages entry
This broch was excavated up to 1920 and some find including stone whorls, vitrified beads etc were made- all now in the National Museum of Scotland. Also found were a ring of post holes in the middle of the site that may have supported upper floors/roof.
Dun Troddan Broch
17/7/94
…and just a mile or so along the road another spectacular broch- these are just fab! The wall height on this one is just a bit smaller than Dun Telve, but the walls are mega thick again. These are magnificent monuments and a great start to our hols.
The Stone Pages entry with some more notes
Dun Telve Broch
17/7/94
A fantastic summers day and what better way to spend it than exploring brochs?! The road across here from Shiel Bridge, the Mam Ratagan Pass, was terrifying, but the views back down and across the Five Sisters were breathtaking. This is the first broch we came across with Dun Troddan just further along the road. This broch is still about 10 m high which is testament to those who built the place, but I guess having walls 4 m thick helps. Up the inner walls are the remains of what looks like two ledges- probably the upstairs!
A small amount of cremated bone was discovered next to one of the stones (as in Carse Farm I). Also similar is the fact that one of the now recumbent stones has four cups marks on its upper horizontal surface. The other recumbent stone has two cup marks near the top.
Next to the inner surface of the NE stone a pit was found filled with charcoal, earth and compacted cremated bone. Also found was a collared urn with incised geometric ornamentation. The SW stone was re-erected sometime in the 20th C.
The four stones form a rectangle measuring 3.9m and aligned WSW/ENE.
Some more info such as this Broch being reused in the 16th C