Meigle was probably the site of an important early medieval Pictish monastery, the centre of which was the present church and churchyard. There was a holy site here even before the Picts were Christianised in the 6th and 7th centuries.
Picts (picti ‘the painted ones’) is the name used by the Romans in late antiquity for peoples in Scotland. The name is attributed to the widespread custom of tattooing. The peoples referred to by the Romans as the Picts were probably not one ethnic group, but different peoples with different cultural traditions, who nevertheless formed political and military alliances in the face of common enemies. The origin of the Picts is unclear. Their language and culture disappeared when the kingdoms of the Picts and the Celtic Scots were united under Kenneth MacAlpin in 843 AD.
The Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum has an exceptional collection of carved Pictish stones
The rear face of Meigle 1. Fish, snake, mytical beasts and riders
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