Rare ’Hogback Stone’moved for the first time in a millennium

The Govan Stones Archaeology at University of Glasgow Prof Stephen Driscoll A half-tonne early-medieval gravestone has left Scotland for the first time in its 1,100 year history, moving to London for the opening of a new exhibition at the British Museum. One of five rare 'Hogback Stones' was moved from Govan Old Church to form part of a new exhibition called 'Vikings: Life and Legend' that will run at the British Museum until June 2014. ‌‌The stone is one of the famous ' Govan Stones ', which are on permanent display in Govan Old Church and form one of Scotland's most important cultural artefacts. In the Ninth century AD Govan was the political, administrative and spiritual capital of the ancient Britons, the seat of the kings of Strathclyde and one of the most important centres in the UK. The collection in Govan is the largest collection of Hogback Stones in one place in the UK and offers a unique window into a relatively little known period of British history. The stone is an example of an ornately carved gravestone which was made to mark the resting place of one of the ancient kings of Strathclyde. Around the time that the Vikings were conquering much of northern Europe, the kingdom of the Britons covered a large part of southern Scotland and northern England.