The Stone of Destiny has a mysterious past beyond British coronations
Story by Ronan O’Connell • Yesterday
National Geographic
Prince Andrew steps off a dais on which rests the Stone of Scone, or Stone of Destiny, during a ceremony to reinstall it at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. The sandstone slab has been used for British royal coronations for centuries, but its origins are shrouded in legend.© Photograph by Gary Doak, Camera Press/Redux
When Britain’s King Charles III is crowned in London on May 6, he’ll sit on an ancient chair housing a 335-pound boulder cloaked in mystery. Used for British coronations since the late 14th century, the Stone of Scone is of unknown origins and age.
Legend traces this rectangular slab to Palestine 3,000 years ago, but scientists believe it is likely from Scotland. The stone is among the most prized treasures of this nation, where it was long used to crown Scottish kings. Then in 1296, it was stolen by England.
The full moon rises behind Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle, where the Stone of Scone is kept when not used for British coronations.© Photograph by Jane Barlow, PA Images/Getty Images
Until 1996, when it was finally given back to Scotland, the stone resided at Westminster Abbey, where it is now reappearing for Charles’ grand coronation. Soon after, the boulder will return to its current home, Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle.
Tourists to this magnificent fortress, which looms above the city on a hilltop, can admire the stone in the castle’s Crown Room. Or they can kneel upon a replica at lavish Scone Palace, 33 miles north of Edinburgh, where the original was part of Scottish coronations for centuries.
Elizabeth II sits on the throne during her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey, on June 2, 1953. Three years before the coronation, the Stone of Scone was stolen and taken to Arbroath Abbey, north of Edinburgh.© Photograph by Fox Photos, Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In Edinburgh, Scone, and Westminster, travelers form a fleeting connection with the enduring puzzle of an artifact that’s been stolen twice, damaged repeatedly, mythologized endlessly, and disputed for seven centuries.
Rock of legend
The Stone of Scone rests inside the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, where it has been used for royal coronations since the 14th century.© Photograph by Sean Dempsey, PA Images/Getty Images
One enduring myth gives the stone an even longer history. This legend states it was used as a pillow by biblical figure Jacob, more than three millennia ago, before being moved from Palestine to Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Ireland, where it was then seized by Celtic Scots.
But the Stone, which is made of sandstone, “cannot have been Jacob’s Pillow because that would have been limestone,” the bedrock of the Holy Land, says British archaeologist David Breeze, who co-authored the book The Stone of Destiny: Artefact and Icon.
After King Edward I conquered Scotland in 1296, he moved the stone to Westminster Abbey. “It was later fitted into King Edward’s chair, upon which all English and British sovereigns have been crowned since the end of the 14th century,” says British royal historian Tracy Borman.
(How did England’s ‘lost king’ end up beneath a parking lot?)
Stealing the stone
The last time the stone was brought out to exercise its crowning powers was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Yet it nearly missed that event thanks to a bizarre caper three years earlier, involving Scottish city Arbroath. The stone was stolen from Westminster, which has hosted every British coronation since 1066, and turned up at the 12th-century Arbroath Abbey, about 80 miles north of Edinburgh.
This extraordinary heist was not the work of professional thieves, says Borman. Instead, it was the crude work of four Scottish students. They broke into the iconic Westminster, dragged the stone across its floor, and then drove away with it.
“After some negotiation between the Scottish and English governments, it was brought back to London in time for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II,” Borman explains. “In 1996, amidst growing support for Scottish devolution, the then-U.K. prime minister, John Major, announced the stone would be kept in Scotland when not in use at coronations.”
(Why Elizabeth II was modern Britain’s most unlikely queen.)
Upon its return to Scotland, scientific research established the stone’s geology was local, says Dauvit Broun, professor of Scottish history at the University of Glasgow. “It has been suggested that it could be the same kind of stone as is found near Scone itself,” Broun notes.
Link to kings
Yet even cutting-edge science can’t fully decode the stone, says Ewan Hyslop, head of research and climate change at Historic Environment Scotland (HES). This month, the organization completed a study involving 3D modeling and X-ray examinations that provided further evidence that the boulder appeared to be from Scone. But Hyslop conceded they still didn’t “have all the answers.”
(Here’s how the spirit of ancient Stonehenge was captured with a 21st-century drone.)
Along with the stone’s provenance, mystery surrounds its earliest uses. Researchers have yet to pinpoint when it first became associated with coronations, says Kathy Richmond, head of collections and applied conservation at HES.
“But legends around its origin strongly link it with kingship and the emergence of Scotland as a nation,” she says. “Sources such as the Scotichronicon attest to inauguration ceremonies taking place at Scone from at least the late ninth century.”
Myth also etched a powerful message into the stone’s surface. The 14th-century Scottish chronicler John of Fordoun claimed that before it was seized by the English, it had been inscribed with these words: “As long as fate plays fair, where this Stone lies, the Scots shall reign.”
For many centuries, fate was harsh. But now the Stone of Scone again sits proudly in the cradle of Scotland’s finest castle, when not in London bathed in the reflected glory of a coronation.
Mysterious New Markings Have Appeared on the U.K.'s Ancient Stone of Destiny
Story by Tim Newcomb • Yesterday
Strange new markings have appeared on the U.K.'s ancient Stone of Destiny. The stone will be used during King Charles III's coronation. What do the clues mean?
An ancient stone, housed in Scotland and dubbed the “Stone of Destiny,” has been used in the coronation of kings since around 840 AD.
The origins of the stone’s prominence remain unknown.
New research has revealed never-before-seen markings on the stone, which will be used during King Charles III’s coronation in May.
There’s a special stone used in the coronation ceremonies of monarchs in the United Kingdom. It’s been this way since around 840 AD. And now we have found, for the first time, hidden markings on the red sandstone slab that will be a part of King Charles III’s May coronation.
An oblong block 25 inches long, 15 inches wide, and about 10 inches thick, the stone’s earliest origins are a mystery. But it has long held a special place in the royal history of the United Kingdom, and is considered by many to be a sacred object.
Believed to have been moved to Scone about 840 AD by Kenneth I from western Scotland, this block—also called the Stone of Scone—became part of the coronation tradition for Scottish rulers. It didn’t remain in Scotland forever, though, as King Edward I of England pillaged it in 1296 and moved it to Westminster. It was officially returned to Scotland in 1996—with some theft now a part of it’s history—and is currently housed in Edinburgh Castle. It remains part of the United Kingdom’s coronation tradition, however, and Scotland has agreed to allow it to be used as part of the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey come May 6.
Due to the remaining ambiguity in the Stone of Destiny’s very early history, the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has renewed its investigation into the red slab ahead of the big royal event. Using a newly created 3D model, researchers now have access to fresh angles and details, showing off what appear to be Roman numerals on the stone’s surface for the first time.
“It’s very existing to discover new information about an object as unique and important to Scotland’s history as the Stone of Destiny,” Ewan Hyslop, head of research and climate change at Historic Environment Scotland, says in a news release. “The high level of detail we’ve been able to capture through the digital imaging has enabled us to re-examine the tooling marks on the surface of the stone, which has helped confirm that the stone has been roughly worked by more than one stonemason with a number of different tools, as was previously thought.”
Digital imaging done with the help of Engine Shed—Scotland’s national building conservation center—showed off cross bedding, something HES calls ”indicative of the geological conditions in which the sandstone was formed and which is characteristic of sandstone of the Scone Sandstone Formation.” Prior and current research likely places the geologic origin of the stone in the Scone Sandstone Formation, near Perth.
The scan also shows off various tooling marks, degradation, and signs of repair. The digital scan was turned into a 3D-printed replica, which also helps with the coronation chair preparations.
Those new markings, though—we just don’t know what they’re all about. “The discovery of previously unrecorded markings is also significant, and while at this point we’re unable to say for certain what their purpose or meaning might be,” Hyslop says, “they offer the exciting opportunity for further areas of study.”
Additional X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed copper alloy traces on the surface, meaning the stone was likely used to house some sort of bronze or brass object. The finding of microscopic traces of gypsum plaster means a cast of the stone could have once been made.
“We may not have all the answers at this stage,” Hyslop says, “but what we’ve been able to uncover is testament to a variety of uses in the Stone’s long history and contributes to its provenance and authenticity.”
Story by Tim Newcomb • Yesterday
Strange new markings have appeared on the U.K.'s ancient Stone of Destiny. The stone will be used during King Charles III's coronation. What do the clues mean?
© SUSANNAH IRELAND - Getty Images
An ancient stone, housed in Scotland and dubbed the “Stone of Destiny,” has been used in the coronation of kings since around 840 AD.
The origins of the stone’s prominence remain unknown.
New research has revealed never-before-seen markings on the stone, which will be used during King Charles III’s coronation in May.
There’s a special stone used in the coronation ceremonies of monarchs in the United Kingdom. It’s been this way since around 840 AD. And now we have found, for the first time, hidden markings on the red sandstone slab that will be a part of King Charles III’s May coronation.
An oblong block 25 inches long, 15 inches wide, and about 10 inches thick, the stone’s earliest origins are a mystery. But it has long held a special place in the royal history of the United Kingdom, and is considered by many to be a sacred object.
Believed to have been moved to Scone about 840 AD by Kenneth I from western Scotland, this block—also called the Stone of Scone—became part of the coronation tradition for Scottish rulers. It didn’t remain in Scotland forever, though, as King Edward I of England pillaged it in 1296 and moved it to Westminster. It was officially returned to Scotland in 1996—with some theft now a part of it’s history—and is currently housed in Edinburgh Castle. It remains part of the United Kingdom’s coronation tradition, however, and Scotland has agreed to allow it to be used as part of the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey come May 6.
Due to the remaining ambiguity in the Stone of Destiny’s very early history, the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has renewed its investigation into the red slab ahead of the big royal event. Using a newly created 3D model, researchers now have access to fresh angles and details, showing off what appear to be Roman numerals on the stone’s surface for the first time.
“It’s very existing to discover new information about an object as unique and important to Scotland’s history as the Stone of Destiny,” Ewan Hyslop, head of research and climate change at Historic Environment Scotland, says in a news release. “The high level of detail we’ve been able to capture through the digital imaging has enabled us to re-examine the tooling marks on the surface of the stone, which has helped confirm that the stone has been roughly worked by more than one stonemason with a number of different tools, as was previously thought.”
Digital imaging done with the help of Engine Shed—Scotland’s national building conservation center—showed off cross bedding, something HES calls ”indicative of the geological conditions in which the sandstone was formed and which is characteristic of sandstone of the Scone Sandstone Formation.” Prior and current research likely places the geologic origin of the stone in the Scone Sandstone Formation, near Perth.
The scan also shows off various tooling marks, degradation, and signs of repair. The digital scan was turned into a 3D-printed replica, which also helps with the coronation chair preparations.
Those new markings, though—we just don’t know what they’re all about. “The discovery of previously unrecorded markings is also significant, and while at this point we’re unable to say for certain what their purpose or meaning might be,” Hyslop says, “they offer the exciting opportunity for further areas of study.”
Additional X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed copper alloy traces on the surface, meaning the stone was likely used to house some sort of bronze or brass object. The finding of microscopic traces of gypsum plaster means a cast of the stone could have once been made.
“We may not have all the answers at this stage,” Hyslop says, “but what we’ve been able to uncover is testament to a variety of uses in the Stone’s long history and contributes to its provenance and authenticity.”
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