Gable Gargoyle...

This morning the door bell rang.. Still in my dressing gown (privilege of retirement!) An American PhD student clutching a copy of the Moray Sites and Monuments Record. Could he see my Pictish gargoyle??
Chopping back the Virginia Creeper years ago, I found an effigy carved in stone high up on the gable wall of our house, which is a converted farm steading. These feature frequently on farm buildings, following the belief that they keep the animals sheltered inside, from harm from evil spirits. It looked very much older than the building (1850) so I sent close-ups off to the National Museum of Scotland. It had been dated to about 800 B.C. The mystery is where it comes from...
However, more recently I showed this to Dr Fraser Hunter, Principal Curator, Iron Age & Roman Collections, at the Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, at the National Museum, who commented:
it is indeed what many people term a "Celtic" head, although the vast majority are medieval or post-medieval in date. The simple style, rounded face, almond-shaped eyes and flattened triangular nose are typical features - but rather then being diagnostically "Celtic" (Iron Age), they are typical of masons who are not trained in naturalistic sculpture. Such heads are found up to the recent past, and indeed the fact that this one is apparently architectural (carved on a larger block) rather than freestanding strongly indicates it is Medieval or, most likely, post-Medieval. You can see similar heads on the external arch at Pluscarden (14th century or so)