Blackpark Fossil Fish Site

The Blackpark fossil fish bed was discovered in 1861 by the Reverend J.M. Joas of Edderton and was selected as a Site of Special Scientific Importance (SSSI) in 1974. The fish-bearing bed lies within strata of Devonian age (around 380 million years old) popularly known as the "Old Red Sandstone". The Old Red Sandstone forms the bedrock of the coastal region of Easter Ross and is visible in many natural outcrops and quarries throughout the region. Most of the older buildings in Edderton and Tain, for example, are built with stone from quarries in the Old Red Sandstone. The fossil fish of the Old Red Sandstone first became widely known through the work of Hugh Miller, who published an account of his discoveries in the mid-nineteenth century. Hugh Miller's cottage, in Cromarty, owned by the National Trust, contains many excellent fossil fish specimens, some of which were collected at the Blackpark site.

Clach Biorach - The Pointed Stone.

The standing stone in the Stony Field of Balblair Farm was erected in the Bronze Age and was probably used in conjunction with the stone circle on the north side of the road as a calendar to determine the passing of the seasons. The Picts, maybe 1500 to 2000 years later, may well have had the knowledge to use this calendar and certainly carved the salmon and other symbols on this stone. Possibly the stone then became the 'totem' for whichever clan of the Picts had their home around Edderton. It is recorded as a Class 1 Stone.

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Cambered Cairns

These were used as religious focal points and were constructed of boulders with the entrance to the centre being reached through a narrow passageway that could be crawled through. It appears that at certain times of year the bones of dead people would be burnt.

Cists

Around the 8th century Christianity became strong in Pictland and the idea of life after death became more important to the Picts. The Picts then usually buried their dead in graves which archeologists called 'cists'. These are pits in the ground which are lined (and sometimes covered) with stone slabs.