Abernethy round tower
The round tower of Abernethy stands in the south-west corner of the cemetery, near the center of the village of Abernethy in Perthshire , Scotland . It dates from the 11th century and is one of only two round towers that survived in Scotland. The other is in Brechin . Both are under the care of Historic Scotland.
The roofless sandstone tower is 22.5 m high and has a diameter of 4.57 m in the bottom area, which tapers up to 3.96 m. The walls are 1.07 m thick. The 12 lower layers are made of a grayer stone than the rest of the tower, which has led to speculation that the base was built earlier than the rest or the upper part was rebuilt early on. Various changes were made, including the delivery of some windows and the installation of a clock. The current clock dates from 1868. There are indications that the tower originally had six wooden floors, which were probably connected by ladders.
The current access via a short wooden staircase dates from 1982, when an iron spiral staircase was added and the tower became an observation tower .
Next to the tower is a broken Pictish symbol stone .
Local history
Here the Scottish King met Malcolm III. in 1072, just six years after the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of England, William the Conqueror. The Scottish ruler assured William that his marriage to Margaret , Edgar Ætheling's sister , who laid claim to the English throne, posed no threat to him. Despite Malcolm's prominent role in early Scottish history, it appears that the Scottish king turned hostages over to William and submitted to the rulers of England and Normandy.
Web links
Coordinates: 56 ° 19 ′ 58.6 " N , 3 ° 18 ′ 42.3" W.