Dundurn Fort

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St Fillan's Hill, on which Dundurn Fort stood

Dundurn Fort (actually Dun Durn; Scottish Gaelic Dùn Fhaoláin ) is two kilometers east of the lake Loch Earn , near the village of St. Fillans in the county of Perthshire in Scotland .

The isolated St. Fillan's Hill on which Dundurn is located rises roughly in the middle of Scotland between the west and east coasts. At this point the routes that led from Argyll and Bute across the Clyde into the land of the Picts met . The rock terraces of the jagged summit offered themselves as a location that could be expanded with palisades or walls. The favorable location is supported by the wide view that one has from the summit plateau into the ice-age- shaped plain up to the mountain passes .

At first the summit was surrounded by a wooden palisade that was held together by iron nails. Except in Burghead ( Moray ), this technique was not used anywhere in the British Isles at that time . The palisade was later replaced by a wall. Finally, the lower terraces were also included in the wall, the remains of which still cover the hill today.

From records in the Ulster Annals it is known that Dundurn existed as early as the 7th century. The sieges of Dunadd and Dundurn are recorded there for the year 683 AD . However, it is not known who attacked or defended and how the fight ended. The elongated lakes and valleys in Perthshire in a west-east direction could have been of importance in the otherwise roadless mountainous country when the Celtic Scots united with the Picts under Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Dalriada in 843 .

The rich finds, which were discovered in several small excavations, show the importance of the area between the 7th and 9th centuries. The finds are of high quality, including an ornate leather shoe, a glass mug and a saucepan. There is also evidence of a jewelry industry, including a remarkable glass gemstone that may have served to decorate a chalice, crucifix, or reliquary.

literature

  • Anna Ritchie, Graham Ritchie: Scotland. Archeology and Early History. Thames and Hudson Ltd., London 1981, ISBN 0-50002-100-7 , ( Ancient places and people 99).
  • Bruce Walker, Graham Ritchie: Fife, Perthshire and Angus. 2nd edition. HMSO, Edinburgh 1996, ISBN 0-11495-286-8 , ( Exploring Scotland's heritage ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History of St. Fillans on the Perthshire , Scotland pages
  2. ↑ The year 683 AD in the annals of Ulster records the sieges of Dún At and Dún Duirn
  3. ^ Anna and Graham Ritchie: Scotland: Archeology and Early History. Edinburgh University Press, Paperback, Edinburgh 1992, p. 176, ISBN 0-74860-291-7

Web links

Coordinates: 56 ° 23 '2 "  N , 4 ° 5' 36"  W.