My aim in this blog is to give you a sense of public responses to the media’s interest, summarised here, and the call that was made in the media for people with information about any fragments of the Stone to share their stories with me. A summary of my story about the 34 fragments stemming from 1951 repairs to the Stone, and cracking why the Stone has ‘xxxv’ scratched on it, can be found here.

Since 17 January, the response has been overwhelming, and quite fantastic in terms of the new knowledge that this will lead to. I will respond to all responses that offer new information, but please accept my apologies in advance that it will take time to do so properly. Only a small part of my time can be devoted to research and it’s a particularly busy time in the teaching year, and I will no doubt need to secure new grant funding to fully follow some things up with you.

As of 23 January – I will periodically update what follows – the information supplied by the public appears to be offering the following new insights, all sources yet to be responded to / followed up:

• four, possibly five, ‘unknown’ surviving fragments have come to light, three of them with numbers written upon them by Gray – I had previously been uncertain if Gray actually wrote on the fragments or, say, put them in numbered envelopes. Letters of authenticity cross-refer to the numbers on the fragments
• I have received descriptions of three fragments, no evidence being numbered so far, their current fate unknown
• I’ve descriptions of fragments mounted in a ring and key ring
• One fragment went to Orkney
• In two cases, people have small glass phials of sandstone particles associated with the repair of the Stone – I had not encountered this practice in any of my prior sources
• Different sources offer me stories about the same fragment but from alternative perspectives (as family, as visitors)
• Photographs of fragments, associated letters of authentication, and of the people involved.

I am pleased to say that some responses relate to replicas of the Stone, which Bertie Gray created in the late 1920s and in 1951. I am also fully researching these and delighted to learn more. For my interest in replicas in general, see my earlier work at https://replicas.stir.ac.uk/.

I am also receiving welcome new anecdotes about the Stone and its life in Scotland. Where relevant, I will ensure that this information is captured and shared.

You will find my contact details here. The volume of email and ‘phone traffic means that I may take time to respond. If you simply want to learn more reliable information about the Stone and its history, my Reading List will help you.

The research that led to my fragments findings, that generated the media interest, that led to the public responses, took place during a British Academy / Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship, supported also by a British Academy / Leverhulme Trust Small Grant. See full acknowledgements here.

Who do I contact if I have any concerns about this study or I wish to complain? If you would like to discuss the research with someone you can contact me or my Head of Division, Dr Ali Cathcart. You have the right to lodge a complaint against the University regarding data protection issues with the Information Commissioner’s Office. The University’s Data Protection Officer is Joanna Morrow, Deputy Secretary. If you have any questions relating to data protection these can be addressed to data.protection@stir.ac.uk in the first instance.