The Dingwall Marker is intended to mark both the past and the present of Dingwall. It consists of a black granite obelisk surmounted by a gilt bronze Highland bull. On the side of the obelisk which faces the road are carved the Names of Dingwall. On the side facing the car park is carved a narrative of the history of Dingwall. The model for the Highland bull is Dalriada, the current champion of his breed in 2006, who lived at Tordarroch, south of Inverness. The Golden Bull is here to remind us that this was the site of the old livestock Mart, that livestock breeding and droving, especially of cattle, was the most important industry in the Highlands for hundreds of years, and that Dingwall was (and still is) a vital centre for this activity. Inscribed on the obelsik is the word Thingvollr, the ancient Norse name for Dingwall, meaning 'council-place'.