Early Medieval Sculpture and the Production of Meaning, Value and Place: The Case of Hilton Cadboll

Abstract

The Hilton of Cadboll Pictish cross-slab is regarded as one of the finest examples of early medieval sculpture in Scotland. The upper portion of the cross-slab is a prime exhibit in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, where such sculpture is portrayed as the 'high art' associated with the origins of the Scottish nation. At a local level, attachment to the cross-slab on the east Ross Shire seaboard (modern Highland) has remained strong since its removal in the mid-19th century. So much so, that a full-size reconstruction was commissioned and erected at the medieval chapel site, next to the village of Hilton of Cadboll, in 2000. However, discovery and excavation of the missing lower portion of the cross-slab in 2001 re-ignited controversy over its ownership and presentation and created tensions between national and local interests and identities.