Kildalton church might hide an ancient secret
ISLAY, SCOTLAND— Nobody tell The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown about this place or actor Tom Hanks will be here in two years to film another quasi-religious thriller movie adaptation.
The grounds of Kildalton Old Parish Church could easily be concealing a deep spiritual secret. Built at about the 12th century, the church building shows the medieval architecture method of “random rubble.” The masonry is jumbled together like Tetris tiles.
The church is ancient, but another structure on the grounds outdates it by some 300 years. The cemetery’s central feature is Kildalton Cross, a finely carved Celtic high cross, possibly the only surviving one of its kind in Scotland.
More than a millennium after it has been carved, Christian imagery of Cain and Abel, the Virgin and the Child, and David and the lion is still distinguishable.
When the ground below the cross was temporarily excavated in the 1800s, two bodies were uncovered — a woman and a man. The latter appears to have died vio- lently, although scholars cannot say how.
A few hundred yards away stands another mysterious relic, the Thief’s Cross. Historians’ wisdom says the corpse had been buried outside the religious grounds because of criminal acts. Again, the circumstances are unknown.
Several lichen-covered tombs within the parish depict sword-bearing warriors. Initially, the unkempt graves arouse sadness. On deeper reflection, the unsullied decay adds to the allure.
Our guide points out the cost of such detailed stonework means the deceased could be valiant fighting kings or merely rich sycophants.
Both are plausible, since Islay had once been home to the noble seat of the Lord of the Isles, a position that claimed control of vast swaths of western Scotland and its islands.
For now, mystery remains over the identity of those within these burial grounds, and locals seem content with Kildalton’s secrets remaining just that. The trip to Islay was funded by Ardbeg’s parent company, the Glenmorangie Co., who did not review or approve this story.