Netherton X Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Please go the extra eight metre or so from Ground Zero and witness the Netherton X Plaque/Stone, just over the fence.
The lost medieval village of Cadzow may have been finally located after artefacts more than 1.000 years old were unearthed during upgrading work on the nearby motorway. The discovery near Hamilton in South Lanarkshire include coins believed to date from the 10th or 11th century, and fragments of glazed medieval pottery and clay smoking pipes. Archaeologists believe this could finally identify the location of the lost village of Cadzow. James II gave permission for Cadzow to be renamed Hamilton in 1445, after the Dukes of Hamilton, who owned lands in the area . Archeologists said the site may have lain undisturbed because it was where the Netherton Cross, which also dates from 10th or 11th century, once stood, A memorial stone was left to mark the spot when the cross was moved to Hamilton Old Parish Church in 1925. They said that although the area was heavily mined during the 19th century, the area around the cross may have been left for religious reasons. The stone marks the former position of the 1000 year-old Netherton Cross – one of the earliest symbols of Christianity in the town and one of the most valuable pre-Norman Christian relics in Scotland. Carved from a slab of local red sandstone, it stands to a height of 2.1m and is decorated on all four sides,The front bears a human figure between two beast-headed humans, a fish, a spiral boss between two panels of geometric carving in the arms of the cross, a panel of interlace in the shaft, and finally, a much weathered four-footed animal. On the rear, there is a squatting human figure above a central bose from which radiate two snake-like bands.The sides are also decorated, on the right, a beast-headed man and, below the cross-arm, an inverted human figure, on the left, a coiled snake, and, on the shaft, two beast-headed men and an animal with a long jaw.The style of decoration suggests that the cross is rather late, probably dating to the 10th century.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Frpbaq arnerfg gerr gb gur zrzbevny