Expert believes she has unravelled Stone of Destiny’s Roman numeral mystery
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The researcher who is trying to trace the “hidden” fragments of the Stone of Destiny believes she has decoded another mystery of the ancient artefact – Roman numerals which were etched on to it. A detailed 3D scan was made of the Stone of Scone ahead of the King’s coronation in 2023.
This revealed the Roman numerals XXXV were inscribed on a part of the 152kg sandstone block which would have been difficult to access. Historic Environment Scotland, which carried out the scan and produced a virtual 3D model of the stone, said it had been unable to ascertain the purpose or meaning of the inscription.
However Prof Sally Foster of Stirling University believes they may be a relatively modern addition to the centuries-old object and linked to her other area of research. Her theory points to the marking being made by Bertie Gray, the stonemason and nationalist politician who oversaw the secret repair of the stone in 1951.
During the famous raid on Westminster Abbey in 1950, when four students spirited the stone back to Scotland, it split in two and Mr Gray later oversaw the work to repair it. Last week, the PA news agency reported Prof Foster’s appeal to help trace the stories of more than 30 fragments of the original stone which were created during Mr Gray’s work.
