Castle Haven (Borgue)
Castle Haven is a well-preserved or restored D-shaped dun (in Scottish Gaelic Dùn). Dun describes a mostly round, small Iron Age area enclosed by a wall , in the manner of a fortification. The complex was added to the list of Scheduled Monuments in 1995 and is therefore a listed building.
location
Castle Haven is on the north coast of Wigtown Bay in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland , between the hamlets of Corseyard and Kirkandrews, in the Community Council Area Borgue . Larger towns nearby are Gatehouse of Fleet , about eight kilometers to the north and Kirkcudbright , nine kilometers to the northeast.
Design
The somewhat abnormal shape - otherwise the duns are round or oval - is more common in the north-west of Scotland than in the south-west, where Barsalloch Fort , closer together, and Dun Kildonan (near Campbeltown ) on the Kintyre Peninsula are other D-shaped counterparts . The systems, which are placed on cliffs or on steps in the hinterland , have a semicircular wall in the manner of inland promontory forts .
The interior only about 10.5 m × 18 m Dun Castle Haven lies with its almost straight west wall along the cliff and has its main entrance in the arc segment of the north end. A smaller entrance at the south end leads down to the beach. The Fort is overgrown today and adds hardly recognizable in the landscape. A peculiarity that connects this small dun with facilities in western Scotland, and which particularly distinguishes Brochs there, is the almost completely circumferential hollow wall structure. Three galleries of different lengths lie within the four-meter-thick wall. Six entrances lead to the galleries. Slabs that are laid as steps lead to the top of the wall . Around the dun there is an almost concentric outer wall, the time of which is uncertain.
Finds
The artefacts during the restoration were found - two spiral finger rings made of bronze and a blue and white glass bead - point out that its users were relatively prosperous. Fragments of an enameled medieval brooch were also found . It has been suggested that the dun may have been used as a refuge for the Balliol clan in the 14th century .
literature
- Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. To Oxford Archaeological Guide . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-288002-0 , ( Oxford archaeological guides ). Pp. 36-37
Web links
- Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- Entry on Castle Haven in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
- Information and pictures on a private website
- Description Engl. and pictures
Individual evidence
- ↑ Map of the boundaries of the CCA Borgue on the Dumfries and Galloway Administration website, accessed August 14, 2017.
Coordinates: 54 ° 48 ′ 34 " N , 4 ° 11 ′ 24" W.