Scone Palace - Moot Hill

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Ancient kings were crowned on Moot Hill, now topped by a chapel next to the palace. It's said that the hill was created by bootfuls of earth, brought by nobles attending the coronations as an acknowledgement of the king's rights over their lands, although it's more likely the site of an ancient motte-and-bailey castle. Here in 838, Kenneth MacAlpin became the first king of a united Scotland and brought to Scone the Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish kings were ceremonially invested. In 1296 Edward I of England carted this talisman off to Westminster Abbey, where it remained for 700 years before being returned to Scotland in 1997.

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Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Perth, Scotland
Photo credit: © Brian R. Ewing Photography / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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