Kildalton Small Cross

The Kildalton Cross was carved in the 700s, and is equal to the great high crosses of Iona. It’s still standing where it was first erected more than 1,200 years ago, making it one of very few early Christian crosses still in their original positions. The adjacent church was built some time after 1200, and was redundant by 1700. The second cross, pictured here, stands a short distance to the north-east of the churchyard in an enclosure defined by decorative but rusty railings. This is known as the Kildalton Small Cross or, more popularly, as the Thief’s Cross, because of the theory that as it stands in unconsecrated ground it must mark the grave of a criminal.{nl}