This is a preliminary report on a stone fragment found in Lamington Church cemetery.
The stone, found by Peter Ryder, is part of a rectangular column of fairly course grained beige coloured sandstone. The two widest faces are carved while the other two sides appear plain.
Face 1
Face one features a floret with originally eight equally spaced pearshaped petals, occupies the full face between the columns of the corner moulding. Six raised areas form an arc around the floret on its complete side. Between this and the frieze of the socketed end, is a rectangular area formed by a groove cut on three sides, a central separate groove is placed within and parallel with the sides. This is bounded on each side by a border of four raised areas similar to those around the floret.
Face 2
A motif of what may be a burning bush, a flaming torch or perhaps a tree base with roots, appears to point to the socketed end of the stone. There appears to be similar bordering of raised squares, as found on Face 1.
The top right hand of face 2 has the best-preserved part of the frieze. This is composed of a half round mould, then a similar 20mm band followed by what appears to be another border of raised squares, similar to those on each face. A final band may be a rim.
Although all sides are missing for the most part, the base is complete and is covered in pointed tool marks.
The stone has some smoothed edges on fractured surfaces, indicating it was broken in antiquity, however, some fractures are fresh and there are also scuff or chip marks probably caused by grass cutting machinery in the cemetery.
The finder reckons the stone is part of a circa 9th – 12th century cross shaft although Stuart Jeffries of WOSAS suspects it to be Roman in origin.
Lamington is the 12th century settlement of one Lambin, who is on record as such. The 18th century church has a Romanesque doorway of c 12th – 13th century date. In the adjoining field to the south and west there are the crop mark sites of a Roman fortlet and a temporary camp, these are given by RCAHMS in their Lanarkshire Inventory as No 335.
