Pictish Stone with Tree of Life
Groam House Museum

This Pictish stone gives us important information about people from the period 1000 to 1500 years ago. Many such large stones have been found across northern Scotland. The name Picts, meaning painted people, was given to them by the Romans.    

It was one of a collection of carved stones stored in the disused vestry store attached to Rosemarkie Church. The design, shown in relief, features a ‘tree of life’. This motif recurs across cultures, religions, and mythologies, as well as the Bible, reflecting the way that trees have often been thought of as sacred.    

A groove on both side edges suggests that the stone was designed to fit into a box-shaped monument or shrine.