Tranent Stone 8

Ref - SMMELTR08

Alias - Tranent  Stone 8

County - East Lothian

Parish - Tranent 

Graveyard - Tranent Kirkyard 

Year -  Unknown

Stone - Red sandstone 

Trade Motifs - None descernible.

Other motifs - Green man, skull and bone, putti, heraldry (?)

Inscription - Partially lost. Awaiting transcription of surviving portion.

Description  - This stone has been weathered more than most stones at Tranent, and although some details remain of the inscription, a further visit will be required to transcribe these. The obverse, with inscription panel occupying the lower portion, is topped by a shaped pediment in which two putti rest on a heraldic shield, probably pseudo-heraldry which gave an indiction of the deceased's trade. This may have been headed by a green man, suggested by the manner in which the volutes converge above the shield. This part is badly weathered and hard to interpret. The reverse pediment bears an oval cartouche which most likely hosted incised initials, also now lost. The remiains of a green man can be clearly seen above this. The panel below houses a possible green man at the head, below which is another bone, perhaps a scapula, and at the foot a skull and bone. Most likley mid-18th century.