A restoration project of the Pictish Stones at Inverurie’s Bass Cemetery has been ongoing since March this year.

The Pictish Stones were taken away in March to be cleaned and restored after years of being battered by the elements left them the worse for wear.

Now John Renshaw Architects have been appointed to design and implement a new shelter for the stones at Inverurie.

Mike Hebenton, a member of Inverurie Community Council which is overseeing the project, told the Evening Express: “It’s been on the go for a while now.

“We’ve been liaising with Aberdeenshire Council about it and it seems to be going well.”

Archeologist Bruce Mann has been overseeing the project for the council, and it was previously said the local authority has said the aim was for the stones to be returned to a custom-built protective display space.

Mike said: “I haven’t seen any designs for the new shelter yet, but I’m presuming that it will be made of glass so that people can look in and view the stones.”

An initial project meeting took place for the shelter’s design and the date set for the final design and construction of the shelter has been agreed for the end of March 2018.

Mike said: “Weather permitting, construction work for the new design should start very soon.

“Obviously it was bad weather that got the stones in this state in the first place, so having a shelter for them is quite important.”

He added: “The stones are quite unique and have some very interesting carvings on them. We’d like to see them returned to the way they were.”

The renovation project came after a campaign was launched in October last year to save the Pictish Stones, with hundreds of Garioch people taking part in a survey to give their opinion on the proposals.