The Cat Stane combines a Bronze Age (roughly 2500–800 BC, when metalworking spread) standing stone with a fifth- or sixth-century Latin funerary inscription, preserving evidence of early medieval (roughly AD 400–1100, between the Romans and the Normans) burial in the former Gododdin landscape near Edinburgh.
A weathered standing stone bearing a fragmented Latin inscription survives inside Edinburgh Airport’s perimeter. The Cat Stane near Kirkliston was probably erected in the Bronze Age and later reused within an early medieval funerary complex.
Its inscription is interpreted as commemorating Vetta, daughter of Victricus, whose remains were buried nearby in the fifth or sixth century.
Cairn evidence and stone-lined graves show how an older monument became a focus for later burial, although the site is not accessible to the general public.
What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.
History
The Cat Stane was probably erected in the Bronze Age, then reused as part of a funerary complex in the fifth or sixth centuries AD. In that later period, the area around modern Edinburgh was controlled by the Votadini or Gododdin. The stone's rough Latin inscription is interpreted as saying that Vetta, daughter of Victricus, lay in the tomb, linking the monument to an early medieval burial.
Edward Lhuyd made the earliest known description in 1699, recording the stone on a pavement of flat slabs around a low oval cairn. Excavations in 1860, 1864 and 1977 found surrounding stone-lined graves, or cists. RCAHMS interprets the site as a Bronze Age monument reused for burials in the fifth or sixth centuries, preserving multiple layers of ritual and commemoration.
People
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Vetta
The woman named in the stone’s worn Latin inscription as the person buried at the monument.
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Portrait: Llywelyn2000 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 Edward Lhuyd
Made the earliest known written description of the stone and its surrounding cairn in 1699.
Cultural influences
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A prehistoric monument reused for early medieval burial
The Cat Stane appears to have begun as a Bronze Age standing stone before becoming the focus of a fifth- or sixth-century burial complex with a Latin memorial inscription.
Discovery & excavation
Excavations in 1860, 1864 and 1977 found the surrounding cairn and stone-lined cist burials, confirming that the standing stone formed part of a funerary complex.
What to look for
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Latin inscription
The weathered stone retains a fragmented Latin memorial inscription interpreted as commemorating Vetta, daughter of Victricus. Its worn lettering is the surviving link between the standing stone and the fifth- or sixth-century burial remembered at the monument.
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Standing stone
The irregular standing stone is about 1.3 metres high and is thought to have originated in the Bronze Age. Its reuse demonstrates that an older prehistoric monument could remain a visible focus in the landscape when the later funerary complex was established around it.
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Burial setting
Excavations in 1860, 1864 and 1977 identified a cairn and stone-lined cist burials around the stone. These remains show that the Cat Stane was part of a wider funerary complex, not an isolated memorial, although the site now lies within Edinburgh Airport’s perimeter and cannot be visited publicly.
Plan your visit
- Location
- 55.9548°N · 3.3645°W
- Nearest settlement
- Edinburgh
- Access
- Private — no general public access
- Terrain
- Easy going
- Time needed
- About 5 minutes
- What survives
- A 1.3-metre standing stone with a weathered Latin inscription, now inside Edinburgh Airport’s secure perimeter and not publicly accessible.
Opening & admission
Not open to visitors — check current status before planning any visit.
- Now lies within the perimeter of Edinburgh Airport, making public access impossible.
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Questions people ask
- What does the Cat Stane inscription commemorate?
- It is interpreted as a memorial to Vetta, daughter of Victricus.
- How old is the Cat Stane?
- The standing stone is thought Bronze Age, with an inscription added in the fifth or sixth century.
- Can the Cat Stane be visited?
- No. It lies within Edinburgh Airport's perimeter and is inaccessible to the general public.
Sources
Explore more: Sacred places · Prehistoric · City of Edinburgh
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