Founded in 1836, Elgin Museum is the oldest independent museum in Scotland and still run by its original learned society, the Moray Society. The collection is broader than you might expect from a provincial museum: Roman coins, a medieval mace, Ice Age fossils from the local Permian beds, and — its most distinctive holding — a collection of carved Pictish symbol stones found across Moray. The fossil reptiles, dug from the red sandstone around Elgin, were important in 19th-century debates about prehistoric life and are still scientifically significant. Entry is free or by donation. 1 High St, Elgin.