The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Excitement as rare medieval Howff stone to be excavated
grave: Secrets will be revealed after almost 800 years underground
A rare medieval stone discovered in Dundee’s Howff graveyard earlier this year will be excavated in a bid to reveal its secrets.
The burial marker was found in July after a digital mapping exercise by the Dundee Howff Conservation Group and is thought to be the oldest monument in the ancient cemetery.
Experts believe the stone dates from around the 12th or 13th Century. Previously, the oldest stone in the graveyard was dated to 1577.
Its secrets are now expected to be unveiled in a partial excavation taking place tomorrow and Monday.
Simon Goulding, chair of the Dundee Howff Conservation Group said: “This has been a completely unexpected and fascinating voyage of discovery.
“From our preliminary investigations the stone appears to have been re-used for burials on at least two occasions, and has two faint inscriptions on it.
“One of them, which dates to 1603, is a memorial to Christian Rutherford, wife of David Lindsay, who was Master of Dundee Grammar School, and latterly the Bishop of Edinburgh.
“Lindsay was the man who crowned Charles I King of Scotland at Holyrood in 1633 and was related to the Lindsay-Crawfords.
“The Lindsay Earls of Crawford were buried at the church of Grey Friars monastery, the site of which was converted to the Howff burial ground.”
Funding from Dundee Common Good Fund allowed the group to arrange for a stone conservator and archaeologist to come to the Howff to reveal as much detail as possible.
Archaeologists will assess the stone and temporarily re-bury it to protect it from the elements.
The find helped the cemetery win “hidden gem” status in September as part of Scotland in Six – Hidden Gems, a competition to find the best “lesser known” archaeological sites in Scotland.
Members of the public are welcome to watch the dig. For more information visit facebook.com/dundeehowff