The isle of Iona was a sacred place in the ancient world. It was "The Sacred Isle of the Blest" (Tirnan-Og) of the Celts. St. Columba founded a monastery on the island in 563. He brought the strength and vision whereby the tiny isle became the ecclesiastical seat of Scotland and the spiritual home of Celtic Christianity. From the mid 8th to 9th century, the Iona artisan monks, possibly Picts, created perhaps hundreds of sculptured crosses. Four of these remain standing today and the fragments of St.Oran's cross lie in the Addy Museum.