the govan stones

We headed into Glasgow's Kinning Park for lunch at La Fiorentina, after which we headed for Govan Old Church for a visit to The Govan Stones. This is a collection of early medieval, Viking-age sculptures that lay buried in the churchyard for easily over 1,000 years and rediscovered in 1955.

Our lunch in La Fiorentina was very nice - the service was excellent and the staff were friendly and helpful. We all opted for the two-course deal and, with most of us going for a starter and main, that only left us enviously ogling Robert and John's desserts. A few of the lads missed the group photo outside due to calls of nature but that's almost standard these days.

Raymond had booked us a tour so our guide Scott McMullen gave us a very informative tour round the church, describing each of the stones they have on show and giving us their theories on the background to them and how they came to be buried in the churchyard. He also gave us a bit of the history of the area that became the Kingdom of Strathclyde and how the Vikings were involved in a huge slave trade, centred in Dumbarton and Ireland.

He also mentioned many of the amazing stained-glass windows, a bit of an anomaly in a protestant Church of Scotland building. 

Govan Old Church dates back to the 5th-century B.C., with the current building, designed by Robert Rowand Anderson, being the sixth place of worship constructed on the site, this one between 1884-1888. 

The churchyard is believed to be the oldest in Scotland. The site itself is a wee oasis of green, nestled between the buildings in deepest Govan.

The Hogsbacks are the most well-recognized of the Stones, weighing almost a ton each and representing a Viking longhouse, whose design was based on on upturned Viking longboat.

To round up, we had a very interesting tour that lasted about an hour so many thanks to Raymond for organizing that and Scott for giving us of his knowledge on the place and its contents. I think we all enjoyed seeing and hearing about what's been lying in plain view in  Govan all these years.

You can find out more about the stones and the church on the web site:

• https://thegovanstones.org.uk/

and, if you're really interested, there's more information here:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Govan_Stones

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Govan_Old_Parish_Church

• https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/archaeologyresearch/currentresearch/govanold/

• https://www.followthevikings.com/visit/govan-hogback-stones

• https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/news/rediscovering-the-lost-govan-stones.htm

• https://thehazeltree.co.uk/2015/04/29/the-govan-stones/

• https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glasgow/govanstones/index.html