Carved stone presented to St Andrews University to mark 600th anniversary

A stone inscribed with the Scots translation of the work of Greek poet Simonides has been presented to St Andrews University to mark its 600th anniversary

Historic Scotland has presented St Andrews University with a carved stone inscribed with a Scots translation of the work of Greek poet Simonides, to mark the 600th anniversary of the university. The stone was carved by Charles Jones, Traditional Skills Officer with Historic Scotland, and reads 'The city is the domine of the man' (domine being the old Scots word for teacher).

Charles said: 'I was asked to begin the inscription as part of a BBC radio programme to reflect the classical tradition of inscribing these verses into stone. Letter carving is a traditional skill worth preserving as inscriptions in stone have helped preserve the culture and identity of people and places for thousands of years.

'My role at Historic Scotland now is to promote traditional skills and I felt that this would be a good way to raise awareness that there are still people taking up stone carving and that there are opportunities for apprenticeships in stonemasonry.'

The stone took around thirteen hours to carve and will go on permanent display at the University's main library later this year.

(Image copyright Historic Scotland)

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