The ancient Pictish Stones which stand at the side of the B9134 road at the village of Aberlemno have an information marker adjacent to each of them giving the history of each stone. There are three stones, The Roadside Cross, The Cresent Stone, and The Serpent Stone. The following is what is written and illustrated on each:
'THE ROADSIDE CROSS
This magnificent cross-slab declared the glory of God to passing travellers, perhaps marking a place where Mass was performed and prayers said.
The stone has stood in its original socket for about 1,200 years. It shows the influence of the Christian Church, which was flourishing in Pictland more than 200 years after its introduction. Nearby Restenneth Priory may have been founded by the Picts.'
The illustrations on the marker are described as follows:
'Book holding angel from the 9th-century Book of Kells. A Scottish deerhound similar to the hunting dogs on the stone.'
A description of how the stone might have once looked, reads as follows:
'The roadside cross, paint-coloured to give the impression of its possible appearance.
1 Five circular bosses on the cross, possibly representing the wounds of Christ.
2 Mourning angels holding gospel books.
3 A ceremonial hunt with trumpeters below prominent Pictish symbols.
4 David saving his flock from a lion, representing Christ the Saviour.
5 A centaur gathering medicinal plants, representing Christ the Healer.
THE CRESENT STONE
You can see traces of present shapes that are thought to be Pictish on this standing stone.
The faint curved shapes are all that survive of Pictish designs that have eroded away: perhaps presents or mirrors. There were once even more stones here, subsequently moved or destroyed.
A symbol stone unearthed in a nearby field was scarred by a plough. It is now in the McManus Galleries, Dundee. Two more were discovered about 900m from here, when Woodwrae Castle was demolished. One was later lost, the other was displayed for a time in the garden of author Sir Walter Scott, and is now in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.'
The illustrations are described as follows:
'GIVE ME SHELTER
These ancient monuments are vulnerable to flaking as water freezes and thaws. To keep them safe, since the 1980s they have been wrapped up in insulating material and boxed over each winter.
An illustration of the cresent stone.
A replica of a lost cresent-shaped Pictish ornament found at Monifieth, 15 miles (24km) south of Aberlemno.
THE SERPENT STONE
A snake, an abstract symbol and a paired comb and mirror were carved into this standing stone some 1,300 to 1,500 years ago.
The motifs within this elegant design had clear significance for the people who made them. They were elements of a symbolic system used by the Picts for up to four centuries but their meaning is lost today.
The symbols may declare an important individual's name or status, mark land ownership or display tribal allegiance. Used throughout Pictland, the system reveals common social and political developments.
ROCK ART
Low down on the back of the stone are some deep, circular pits, prehistoric rock art perhaps 2,000 years older than the Pictish designs. It seems the Picts deliberately reused a decorated Bronze Age standing stone.'The illustrations read as follows:
The serpent stone, part-coloured to give an impression of its possible appearance. The silver plaque included coloured enamel.
A 7th-century silver plaque from Fife, decorated with the same abstract symbol found on the serpent stone.
The naturalistic serpent may depict a native Scottish adder.'