Hilton of Cadboll Stone

The Hilton of Cadboll Stone is a Pictish cross-slab from about AD 800, standing on the east coast of the Tarbat Peninsula in Easter Ross. It was raised near a natural amphitheatre roughly 100 metres from the shore. The stone was likely carved at the instigation of the monastery at Portmahomack, which then controlled the peninsula. In the 13th century a small chapel was built six metres to its east. A modern village now lies along the coast to the south-west. The stone’s front once showed a decorated cross with scenes of Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell around it. The back bears Pictish symbols and a hunting scene once thought to show a noblewoman but now linked to Christian themes. Fragments found in 1998 and 2001 allowed parts of the lost cross-face to be reconstructed. The recovered lower portion is displayed at the John Ross Visitor Centre in Balintore, while a copper replica stands near the original site. Visitors see the restored base with its triskeles and cross motif, and the replica shows the hunting scene facing east. The chapel ruins stand close by, and the setting remains close to a stream that once allowed immersion during Easter baptisms. The stone’s carvings reflect its role in the Easter vigil, when new Christians were received into the community.