September 20, 2005
Stone of Scone, not Jacob's Pillow
ACCORDING to legend, it was used as a “pillow” by Jacob, the founder of Israel, as he dreamt of angels ascending to heaven on a ladder.Geological sampling would appear to confirm a match with the sandstone of Scone, rather than the Palestinian limestone of Beitin. From the Sunday Times.The fabled Stone of Destiny was then taken from Palestine to the north, where it became the ancient symbol of Scottish kingship.
After spending centuries resting at Westminster Abbey, it takes pride of place in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle. Now the Duchess of Hamilton claims to have unearthed evidence that unpicks the myth. She says she has proof that the stone, far from originating in the Middle East, was mined somewhat closer to home — Perthshire, in fact.
Posted by David on September 20, 2005 9:38 AM
The back-and-forth tussles over the stone bring to mind long-standing rivalries between traditional colleges and some of the pranks pulled by MIT students.
Posted by: Sarah on September 20, 2005 3:23 PM
Sounds like all the pieces of the True Cross, saints relics, and the like. Fie on archeologists and the like that spoil a good story with facts.
Posted by: Acad Ronin on September 21, 2005 10:13 AM
It's been known for years that the Stone of Scone is an indigenous piece of Perthshire sandstone which was used as an inauguration stone. Historic Scotland researched its geology after it was moved back up. The myth of it being 'Jacob's pillow' brought by 'Scota, daughter of Pharaoh' was developed as a Scottish medieval riposte to English claims to have been founded by 'Brutus the Trojan' and hence that they had claim to the entire island of Britain supposedly named after him. The story seems to date from the late 13th-early 14th century, no earlier. There is a proper publication of recent studies on the stone to date (Welander, Richard. et al. Editors. The Stone of Destiny: artefact and icon. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2003), which covers this. These new tests were based on such dodgy historical assumptions to begin with, that they sound like a complete waste of time.
Posted by: Flitcraft on September 21, 2005 11:15 PM
Well, maybe God brought it to Palestine to serve as a pillow and then brought it back. See, it really IS special!
Posted by: David Ross on September 22, 2005 1:30 PM
'You asked for a pillow, and lo! I gave you a lump of Perthshire sandstone!' Now that really would be proof of a divine sense of humour :-)
Posted by: Flitcraft on September 22, 2005 5:54 PM
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