Flotta
This probable Class III cross slab was found near the site of an old chapel on the island of Flotta.
The stone measures around 1.65m wide by 0.81m tall and is carved with a square panel containing an equal-armed cross, with open rounded armpits, with the arms filled in with interlacing knotwork. It has been interpreted variously as an altar frontal, a component of a shrine or the side of a sarcophagus.
Nothing remains of the chapel but its site is marked by a slight rise in the ground on which the local war memorial now stands.
The stone was found in two halves and re-used in the wall of the medieval church at Kirk Bay in 1871 but was taken to Kirkwall soon after and kept in George Petrie’s garden until his collection of artefacts was bought by the Society of Antiquaries in 1877. It is now in the National Museum of Scotland with the accession number X.IB.48.
Alternative names for Flotta
Bayview
Where is Flotta?
Flotta is in the parish of Walls and Flotta and the county of Orkney.
Grid reference: ND 3665 9308
Lat / long: 58.820578, -3.09859
OS Map for Flotta
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Weather at Flotta
max 6°C / min 5°C
999mb
89%
75%
08:49 15:19
Light rain
Weather observed at Orphir at 08:05
