In this Investigation, Mithraic belief is again in the sense of Pictish-Mithraism as decoded in Mithraic Symbols Identified and Decoded. With a focus on Mithraic and Christian beliefs, there are no animal, bird or fish carvings to evaluate in terms of prospective Celtic personal attributes / religious beliefs or Roman context (military or mythology); horses, for example, are all in hunting scenes. Christian belief is represented on these Class 2 Stones by a Cross. Class 3 Stones are not included as they do not have any Mithraic objects.
For those Stones with Pictish-Mithraic Symbols and Christian Crosses two lists have been produced – this Investigation (No 2) of 38 Stones which variously have carvings of Pictish-Mithraic Symbols plus Christian Crosses and related carvings suggesting a Christian belief meaning and a further Investigation (No 4) with P-M, Christian items and also carvings of animals, birds and fish with Celtic attributes.
The intent is to assess if the meaning of the carvings is complementary between any of the Mithraic decodes and any of the Christian belief objects or if, by Stone, there is a Shared Space based on implied acceptance of beliefs. Adding to the complexity of deciding what might relate to a belief, 21 of these Stones have carvings noted as “people / scene”; 23 have objects that are “undecoded”. a Hunting scene, horseman with spear
Fordoun, as an example, has a Pictish-Mithraic Z-Rod & Double Disc, a Christian Greek style Cross, a Fish Monster, Linear Ogham and Cursive text.
A Shared Space is apparent with implied acceptance of P-M and Christian beliefs with seemingly-non-religious carvings being accommodated.
Click here for the Investigation 2 PDF complete with analysis and evaluation by Stone, Evaluation Outcomes, Observations and Conclusions.