Shropshire cover-up in footsteps of ancient Scottish kings
Here's a tale to cap it all... Did you hear the one about the prehistoric site on a craggy hillside in the wilds of Scotland which is actually a replica made in Shropshire?
It is strange, but true, and happened 40 years ago.
And that protective shell made in Craven Arms is still in place, ensuring the ceremonial footprint carved in rock at Dunadd, Argyll – which is thought to have been used as part of the coronation ceremony for the earliest Scottish kings – survives for future generations.
With tens of thousands of visitors each year visiting the site and tempted to put their own feet into the imprint, there was a fear that it would be worn away.
So a cover-up was ordered. The Shropshire-crafted cover replicates the Celtic runes, the carving of a boar, and the footprint, and is so convincing that even experts have been fooled.
Dunadd, which is cared for by Historic Environment Scotland, is an ancient regional capital and one of the most important Scottish heritage sites.
Completed in 1979, the replica was the work of stone restorer Tom Hills, of Aston-on-Clun, and his assistant John Evans, and was crafted at Mr Hills' Craven Arms workshop.
A story in March of that year told how his employers, Renofors UK Ltd, were called in by a government department responsible for ancient monuments and asked to save the boar stone at Dunadd Fort.
The rock, with a drawing of a boar and an indentation of a footstep, was being worn away by the elements and the feet of tourists.
A latex skin was painted on the original and plaster put on top to keep it in place and form a mould.
It took a week of work to get the mould, which was then transferred to the Craven Arms workshop.
A stone compound was then poured into it and two days later the pair took the mould off to reveal the replica.
The replacement weighed about 1,500cwt and was to be taken to Scotland by truck, according to the 1979 story, which added that the final part of the journey to the top was due to have been done with the aid of a helicopter on March 21 that year, with Tom and John supervising the operation.
The replica had metal studs around the outside to help keep it in place.
The original stone with its carved imprint of a foot has enormous significance in Scottish history, as it is thought that, following Irish tradition, the King of Dalriada was inaugurated by placing his foot into the rocky imprint.
