Cat Stane

The Cat Stane stands near Kirkliston on the western edge of Edinburgh. It is a weathered standing stone about 1.3 metres tall, set within the perimeter fence of Edinburgh Airport. The stone once formed part of a Bronze Age funerary complex that included a low cairn and several stone-lined graves called cists. Excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries uncovered human remains and grave goods around the site. The area was later controlled by the Votadini or Gododdin tribes in the fifth or sixth centuries. The stone bears a short Latin inscription added centuries after it was first raised. Experts from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland read the worn letters as a dedication to a woman named Vetta, daughter of Victricus. The inscription is dated to the fifth or sixth centuries, long after the Bronze Age burial mound was built. Welsh scholar Edward Lhuyd recorded the stone in 1699, describing it standing on a pavement of flat stones. Later digs in 1860, 1864 and 1977 confirmed its funerary use and Bronze Age origins. Visitors cannot walk up to the Cat Stane because it lies inside the airport boundary. The stone is protected as a scheduled monument. Close by, the Gogar Burn flows into the River Almond, adding a natural setting to the ancient site. The surrounding land shows traces of the low oval cairn and cist graves found during excavations. Despite its restricted access, the Cat Stane remains a recognised part of Edinburgh’s early history.