Pencil on polyester film, 2008
Survey by RCAHMS
At 2.9m high and 1.9m wide, this is one of the largest and most impressive of Pictish cross slabs. The interlace-filled cross and some of the creatures and figures are carved in shallow relief whilst the Pictish symbols (the deer’s head and the triple-disc) and the connecting ring between the arms of the cross are carved in false relief or are incised.
Like many other Pictish cross slabs, Glamis contains many strange and curious images the significance of which we don’t understand, such as the two pairs of human legs sticking out of a large cauldron just below the left arm of the cross.
As with all RCAHMS survey work, the drawing is made in-situ. This initial survey of Glamis was undertaken over a number of days during a two to three hour window when the sunlight raked across the surface highlighting the detail.