Sueno's Stone, Forres, United Kingdom

Sueno's Stone is a Picto-Scottish Class III standing stone on the north-easterly edge of Forres. It is the largest surviving Pictish stone of its type in Scotland and stands over 7 metres high. Radiocarbon dating at the site produced dates of charcoal fragments to between AD 600 and AD 1000. It is situated on a raised bank on a now isolated section of the former road to Findhorn. The stone is named after Sweyn Forkbeard, but this association has been challenged and it has also been associated with the killing of King Duffus.

Sueno's Stone is an upright cross slab with typical Pictish style interwoven vine symbols on the edge panels. It is carved from Old Red Sandstone which is prevalent in the Laigh o' Moray but has suffered considerable weathering in places. The western face has a carved Celtic cross with elaborately interlaced decoration and a poorly preserved figural scene (perhaps a royal inauguration) set in a panel below the cross. The east face has four panels that show a large battle scene. The top panel is quite weathered and shows rows of horsemen. The second panel depicts armed foot soldiers and the third panel shows the decapitated vanquished soldiers, the heads piled up, and soldiers, archers and horsemen surrounding what may be a broch. The base panel depicts the victorious army leaving the battlefield. The sides are also elaborately carved. In the early 1990s the stone was encased in armoured glass to prevent further erosion and also graffiti.

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User Reviews

Esteban Grande (2 years ago)
Interesting but not necessarily really great. There are no facilities, just a giant ancient stone, hand carved and in an enclosure to protect it. It's a little hard to find because it's on a small lawn in the middle of residential houses.

Simča G (2 years ago)
The biggest pictish stone. But it is guarded by a glass box, so when the sun is shining, you do not see much.

Ian Forbes (2 years ago)
Fantastic piece of history well displayed in a protective enclosure. Free to visit and spaces to park. As is normally the case for these insights into Scottish history it's free to visit. It's less than a 2 minute detour off the A96 so visit it for yourself and be amazed at the size of it!

Vicky Dunbar (3 years ago)
The stone itself is magnificent but the glass cabinet it's in is not very clean and it's difficult to photograph the carvings on a sunny day due to the glass and the glare. Spectacular artifact though and worth the visit. Car park small but not busy

Steve Forbes (STE) (3 years ago)
looks good for the public now as I've just cut the grass on both sides of a96 at the stone

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