In Kildonan Museum, South Uist, an island of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, sits a 16th-century stone with a mysterious tale.
 
For centuries, the carved stone panel lay in Howmore cemetery, marking the grave of John of Moidart, former chief of Clanranald. Howmore, South Uist was the hub of learning during the medieval Lordship of the Isles; following the Reformation, it became a burial place for Clanranald chiefs. The site is a complex of chapels and churches, with the main chapel dating to at least the 8th Century.
 
In 1990, the local priest, Canon Angus Macqueen, discovered the Clanranald stone missing with marks showing the gravestone had been dragged away over the cover of night, no mean feat given the memorial stone weighs 360lb. Understandably, there was much furore amongst the island community at the theft. A national appeal was made for its recovery, and the then Ancient Monuments Department launched an investigation into the disappearance but to no avail.
 
The Clanranald stone's location was a mystery for five years until it was uncovered 578 miles away in Euston, London, under tragic circumstances.
 
David Maben had travelled from Ontario, Canada, to clear out the flat of his son Lawrence, who had recently died. Within their son's possessions, David Maben found the stone alongside photographs of the removal by two men, one of them identified as Lawrence Mabon; his accomplice has never been identified. The reasons behind the theft remain unknown, but an article in The Scotsman reported, 'It appears to have been taken in a moment of hi-jinks but the theft of a 16th Century gravestone…ended with a dark twist-in-the-tale'.
 
The British Museum was alerted of the discovery. The Department of Mediaeval and Later Antiquities Curator, Cathy Haith, recognised the ornate carving on the stone as late mediaeval Celtic and contacted the National Museum for Scotland, who confirmed the stone to be the stolen Clanranald gravestone.
 
Carved to commemorate John of Moidart, chieftain of the Clanranald in the late 1500s, the stone depicts the galley of the Lords of the Isles, Castle Tioram, a hand holding a cross-crosslet, a rampant lion and a raven. John of Moidart died in 1584. He achieved legendary status by securing the leadership of Clanrandald at the Battle of the Shirts at Loch Lochy. Legend has it that the day of the battle was so hot both sides threw off their chainmail and Plaids to fight in their shirts. Around 300 Frasers and Macintoshes, led by Lord Lovat and Ranald Gallda, were attacked by as many as 600 MacDonalds and Camerons, led by John of Moidart. Lovat and Gallda were killed in battle, and the victor, John of Moidart, was severely wounded but secured his title.
 
The Clanranald stone returned undamaged to the island, where it resides at the Kildonan Museum as a highlight of their collection. The story of its discovery ignited old folklore from Uist tradition that anyone who desecrated the ancient grave would be cursed.