Covenanters' Memorial

The Covenanters' Memorial in Greyfriars Kirkyard stands as a plain stone obelisk marking the final resting place of eighteen thousand people who died for their religious beliefs. In sixteen seventy-nine, several hundred prisoners were held in the open air here for months, exposed to the elements after their defeat at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. Most died from starvation or disease. Their sacrifice established the right to religious freedom in Scotland long before it was widely accepted across the rest of the kingdom.