The Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny

Saturday, March 04 2006

This is the legend of one of the greatest artifacts of all time. The Stone of Scone also refered to as The Stone of Destiny or the Coronation Stone on which Kings and Queens of Ireland,Scotland and England have been crowned for century after century...

The stone itself is a 336 lb. chunk of yellow sandstone.

The stone goes back to Old testament times when according to the legend Jacob used the stone as a pillow when he saw the ladder going into heaven as told in Genesis 28:10-22. During his dream Angels made prophecies to Jacob and when he awoke he used the stone to build a pillar after annointing it with oil and calling the place where he had slept Bethel.

Later the stone was taken to Ireland around 400AD by Princess Tea where it was renamed Lia-Fail. The hill Tara was named for Princess Tea. Kings of Ireland were crowned upon the stone until the time that Fergus MacEarca took it to Scotland in 843AD first to Scone and it stayed for a time in Iona and many a Scottish king was crowned upon it until King Alexander in the 13th century about 600 years.

The stone was taken from Scotland by King Edward the First in 1296AD and was kept in Westminster Abbey until 1996AD when it was returned back to Scotland. The stone now sits in Edinburgh Castle but must be returned to Westminister for the crowning of the next coronation. The year after the stone was returned the Scots voted to have their own parliament and be an almost independent nation once again.

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Authored by: Anonymous onSunday, March 05 2006

One of the people involved in the taking of the stone of Destiny lived in Inverasdale which you should know well Ron, infact her house was My uncles house that you looked at the flats in, she swears they do not have the original stone back!

Authored by: Ron onSunday, March 05 2006

Thats an interesting story you have there Susan. I am aware of the house where you are referring to but I am still puzzling who you mean. Did we met her when we were there? About the Stone... I have read that this stone was a fake but from around 1296. Of course I looked around on the Internet and found an interesting website..
Can you tell me some more about that person Susan? Manuela and I dont know who you mean.. Great wedding picture by the way and very original :-) You two look great

The lady in question now lives in the Old persons home in Aultbea and is called Kay Matheson, she was a scottish nationalist and was involved in the taking of the stone in 1951 her and three men, she was a teacher in the local high school and is a good friend of our families, in fact i ended up adopting her cat when she went into the home and my parents adopted her dog! She always maintains that the stone they got back was not the original one and that the original one is hidden in Scotland and they will not say where!! we wonder is it in the founds of her house!!!!

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=359332004 little bit more about her

Authored by: Bruce onMonday, March 06 2006

An interesting subject that seems to have more questions than will ever be answered properly! One thing I will point out is that the stone was taken originally to Dalriada before being taken to Scone by Kenneth MacAlpin... and then of course from there to Westminster by Edward I!

However, in amongst all the speculations we have people questioning whether the original stone was ever brought from Ireland... or if it was hidden at Scone and Edward took a replacement... and thats just the tip of the ice berg!

One thing is certain, the stone was taken from Westminster Abbey and later left in Arbroath and yes there is speculation as to whether the stone that was left matched the one taken! However, I think someone would have noticed if it wasn't and, while I am not saying anyone is trying to mislead the world at large, in my opionion the stone that was returned to Edinburgh in 1996 is the same stone that was taken from Scone 700 years before!

As I said tho, there is a question as to whether that stone was THE stone or not!

Like speculation over William Wallace, this is one legend that will endure... will anyone know the truth?

Authored by: Anonymous onMonday, April 17 2006

I have a friend who has a small sample of the stone.
His father transported the stone to the masonry yard for repairs He was given a sample of stone form a dowel hole.
Suely the easiest way to find out the truth about the stone is a simple check by a geologist. I suspect it a fairly normal piece of sandstone comon in the Perth area

Authored by: Anonymous onThursday, April 20 2006

"Suely the easiest way to find out the truth about the stone is a simple check by a geologist."

Sounds simple, but... you have to know first what type of stone THE stone was made out of before a check like this would prove anything! Why not have your sample checked and let us know what that is... tho I suspect it will be sandstone as that is what the stone in Edinburgh Castle appears to be!

As I said before, whether the stone in Edinburgh is the original stone or not will be almost impossible to prove! The Stone of Destiny is surrounded in more myth and legend than it is in facts!

The Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny

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