Dupplin Cross

The Dupplin Cross stands on a hillside in Strathearn, Perth and Kinross, carved from Old Red Sandstone around 800 AD. It was first recorded in 1769 by Thomas Pennant near Forteviot and Dunning. In 2002 Historic Scotland took it into care and placed it under the tower of St Serf’s Church in Dunning for preservation. The cross is a rare surviving high cross from Pictish lands, where many similar monuments were destroyed during the 16th-century Reformation. A second cross, the Cross of Dronachy, once stood nearby but has since fallen and broken, leaving only its base in place. The Dupplin Cross is about 2.5 metres tall and 1 metre wide, carved with religious, martial and traditional Pictish animal scenes. Its partially legible inscription names CUSTANTIN FILIUS FIRCUS, the Latin form of the early 9th-century Pictish king Caustantín son of Fergus. This inscription provides a fixed point in the chronology of Pictish sculpture and shows that Gaelic was spoken at the time. The carvings include a rider with an oversized head and ponytail, a man fighting bears bare-handed, a harp-playing figure likely to be David, and hunting dogs on the sides. Inside St Serf’s Church tower the cross is protected yet still visible to visitors. The sandstone surface shows clear figures and symbols despite centuries of exposure. The church itself dates from the 11th or 12th century, adding another layer of history to the site. The surrounding area overlooks Forteviot and the River Earn, linking the monument to its original landscape. The contrast between the ancient carvings and the medieval tower creates a quiet space for reflection on Scotland’s early medieval past.