These stones are from the edge of either Holy Island (Lindisfarne) or Aberdeenshire. They are decorated, using acrilic paint and varnish, with caricatures of some of the celtic/saxon fantastical creatures which illuminate the pages of the Lindisfarne Gospels. They are devoted to Eadfrith, the Saxon monk who created the Gospels around the year 690 AD. EXTRACT FROM 'THE LINDISFARNE GOSPELS' BY JANET BACKHOUSE (PHAIDON, OXFORD 1992) “Many of the patterns used by Eadfrith and his contemporaries go back far beyond the Christian period. ….. Most characteristic of all is the zoomorphic interlace, adopted from Germanic art and distinguished in the Lindisfarne Gospels by the extensive introduction of interlaced birds in addition to the more usual interlace quadrupeds. The latter often have elongated, almost serpentine bodies, and legs, ears and tails are all stretched out to form part of the pattern. These animals tend, for the sake of convenience to be described as dogs, though most of them are entirely fanciful.  …  Eadfrith’s birds have excited much scientific discussion, largely inspired by the suggestion that he had some local fowl in mind, since Holy Island and its surroundings are rich in wildlife. .. Eadfrith’s birds cannot be regarded as accurate scientific drawings, and their sinuous feet, with long, cruel talons, are not the feet of water birds. Nevertheless it is hard not to see in them some reflection of the cormorant family, seated in characteristic attitude on the rocks with necks and beaks proudly extended and with the sun striking the gleaming iridescence of their feathers …”