Pictish Seahorses and Water Kelpies

Carved on a stone now standing in Aberlemno Churchyard, Angus, the
Sea Horses symbol is carved on around 44 individual stones by the
Pictish people of Scotland.

Stone in the environment surrounding the Pictish people was put to good
use in other ways too, of course, and the other fascinating icon along
with the Pictish Symbol Stones, which arouses our passion and captures
our interest, is the Broch or Dun. Still surviving after over 2,000
years are two amazing examples near where I live, namely, Dun Telve and
Dun Troddan. Further up Glen Beag, where these Brochs are situated, are
a few symbol stones whose symbols though have been weathered away. Dun
Troddan once stood to a height of 11m, but some stones were removed in
1722 for the building of the now ruiness Baracks at nearby Glenelg.
Nonetheless, the spectacularly well preserved remains reveal a glimpse
into the past to us of the incredible skill in stone work the Picts
had.

The symbol stones were carved over a period of 300 years, from 400 -
700 AD, and can be found in many places around the north of Scotland
and on the Scottish Islands, the majority to be found in the North
East. Aberlemno is situated in the heart of what was known as the
Pictish Kingdom.

We do not know what the symbols represent but the carvings continue to
fascinate us, just as they fascinated our more recent ancestors, the
Celts, who too, had their "Seahorses" or "Water Kelpies", and there are
many stories about them in Scotland.

Deep pools are the abode of the Water Kelpies, said to assume the form
of beautiful men and women. Mortal travellers who happened to pass too
close to such enchanted pools or lochs would fall under the spell of
the Water Kelpies, and once mesmerised, the Water Kelpie would reveal
its true form of the water horse and entice the unfortunate travellers
to ride upon its beautiful back down to their watery doom.

A good walk from the Pictish Brochs in Glean Beag into the hills
further on, will take you to one such pool today, Loch Iain Mhic
Aonghais, so named after Ian MacInnes who was taken by a water horse.
Many places in Scotland have those pools. When the Castle of Vayne
stood on the north bank of the River Noran, in Fern, Angus, the people
residing there at the time, it is said, were plagued by a Water
Kelpie.

Around the world, numerous stories of water horses have been told.
Sliepner, the gray horse of Odin, was said to have eight legs and could
travel on land or sea. Pegasus, the winged horse that sprang from
Medusa after her death, was also a water horse. Fountains sprang from
the touch of Pegasus' hooves, such as Hippocrene and Aganippe on Mount
Helicon. Finally, Pegasus was placed in the sky as a
constellation.

Thank you for reading this article, if you have any comments or
questions, please feel fere to email me,
Marilyn.Cameron@btinternet.com