Saturday 2 May 2009

More recent graves




This is another part of the extended burial ground which contains newer burials. The two small gravestones are that of the daughters of the 29th chief. They are relatively simple in decoration with a small MacDougall galley symbol at the top.

The extravagant grave in the middle is that of the late husband of the 30th Chief of the Clan. I thought this was quite unusual because although it is a grave slab similar to a cross, there is a lot going on with the symbolism. At the top you have the dragon headed galley of the MacDougalls symbolising their Norse heritage and naval power. There is a lot of entwining celtic design and in the middle within the circle is a horse with a banner, perhaps symbolising the clan's power.

Perhaps the graves are showing the difference in status of these people and the relationship to the Chief? Daughters of the Chief have quite modest stones while the husband of the Chief has a very extravagant stone.

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