The cemetery is on the B993 to the east of Inverurie on the river Urie. There are two large mottes in the middle of the cemetery, all that is left of the 12thC castle used by Robert the Bruce before his defeat by the Earl of Buchan in 1308. They were strategically placed and commanded the confluence of two rivers just to the south. They would have had a wooden palisade and buildings on the top. A steep path climbs up the side of the grassy 50′ high motte.
Among the the trees to the west of the motte are the remains of four Pictish stones with an old grave slab. These are early, pre-Christian stones with incised designs. They had been originally built into the wall of a medieval church. When the church was demolished, the remains were set up here with an information board. One stone has a well marked Z-rod and double disc. A long, recumbent stone has a serpent, crescent and part of a Z-rod on the upper surface. The furthermost stone is supposed to have a horse carved on it, but the stone was very rough and it was impossible to make out any detail. The fourth stone is a small fragment with some rather indistinct carving.
There is little parking by the cemetery and we parked in the entrance to Scottish Water across the road.
There isn’t a lot to see and it isn’t worth going out of your way to find.
