The Stone of Scone

On 30 November 1996, St. Andrew's Day, amidst a great fanfare of Bagpipes, Cannon Salutes and impeccable security at Edinburgh Castle, England represented by Prince Andrew returned to Scotland a priceless treasure that had been forcibly taken from them exactly 700 years earlier – a stone – not just any stone, but the famous Stone of Scone (pronounced Skoon).

The Stone of Scone, which is also known as the Stone of Destiny and has had an extraordinarily elevated place in Irish, Scottish, English, British, Jewish, Muslim History, is a 26 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 11 inches high block of yellowish sandstone, weighing 152 Kg and carved with a Latin Cross on top.

It was supposedly this stone that Jacob used for a pillow the night he dreamt of the Stairway to Heaven and saw the Angels of Bethel as mentioned in Genesis Chapter 28. From the Holy Land it came to Ireland via Egypt, Sicily, and Spain, and became the property of the Early Dalriadic Kings of Ireland. It became known as the Stone of Destiny after St. Patrick blessed it and prophesised that the descendants of the Irish Kings would reign wherever the Stone lay (There seems some truth in the prophecy since the English Royal Line came to an end with Queen Elizabeth I and the present British Royalty is descended from the Scottish line of King James VI who beame James I of England). Each new ruler was expected to sit on the stone at the time of his coronation. According to legend, the stone recognized a legitimate heir by emitting a cry, and for this reason the stone also became known as Liath Fall or Speaking Stone. Many Wars were fought and much blood shed to either protect this stone or to obtain it.

When the bastion of the Irish Kings, the Hill of Tara, was lost to them, the Stone was taken to Scotland by Kenneth I the 36th King of Dalriada. There it remained at the Abbey at Scone and came to be of prime importance in the crowning of the Scottish Kings. John Balliol was the last Scottish Monarch to be crowned on the Stone of Scone in 1292. In 1296, the Scots were defeated by the English King Edward I, who seized the Stone, the symbol of Scottish sovereignty, and carried it off to England. He thought this would break Scottish resistance. He was mistaken, but they did fiercely resent their Stone being carted off. In 1398, under the Treaty of Northampton, an agreement was reached in which the English promised to return the Stone. But they reneged on that promise and the Stone remained at Westminster Abbey in England. Here it remained until Christmas Day 1950 when a group of young Scottish Nationalists stole it and it was found 4 months later at Arbroath Abbey. It was returned to Westminster Abbey and stayed there until 1996 when the then English Prime Minister John Major and Queen Elizabeth I decided to return to the Scots their Stone - on the understanding that it would temporarily be brought back for the future coronation of the next Monarch.

The Return of the Stone of Scone was of course an emotional moment, but not one that thrilled everyone. Scottish Nationalists claimed it was a gesture meant to divert attention from more important issues. There was the question too whether this in fact was the genuine Stone of Scone. This has actually been a nagging question over the centuries. It has been said that the original Stone of Scone never left Ireland to begin with, that what was taken to Scotland was a mere copy. According to another legend, the Scottish Stone of Scone was real enough, but the one stolen by the English was in fact fake. The wily Scots, seeing that they were about to lose, substituted the Stone with the cover of the Castle cesspit, and it was this that the English eventually carted off and fitted under the seat of the wooden Coronation Throne on which they have been crowning their Monarchs ever since. Still other stories claim that the English Stone of Scone was real too, but was stolen by the Scottish Nationalists and it was a fake that was 'found' later at the Arbroath Abbey.

Fake or Real, the Stone of Scone now rests in Edinburgh Castle with other well-guarded Scottish Treasures, and is open for public viewing at $10 per person.