Document record MAB61033 - DUNNICHEN

Site of a possible castle or fort.

Site of a possible castle or fort. The Old Statistical Account (1791-9) describes 'the visible remains of the foundation of some ancient building' on part of the south of the hill of Dunnichen called 'Cashells' or 'Castle hill'. By the time of the New Statistical Account (published 1845) the remains had been removed to build fences and quarried away by the 'Castle Quarry' (NO54NW0028). On both the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps it is marked as 'Site of Tower'.The building was described in the New Statistical Account as 'built with dry stone, without any cement' and similar to the fort on Dunbarrow Hill (see NO54NE0005). The quarrying at Castle Quarry had exposed the floor of the structure, on which was found 'a thick layer of wood ashes, mixed with numerous bones, which seem to have belonged to the animals on which the inhabitants fed' and at one spot 'a number of small golden bullets' interpreted as currency at the time, but possibly referring to arrowheads or sling-shots. This structure has been identified with the 'Dun Nechtain' associated with the 7th century battle (NO54NW0012) supposed to have been fought nearby. F. T. Wainwright attempted to discover more and wrote in 1948 that 'demolition and quarrying have wrought such devastation that people living below the site are unaware that any structure ever existed there'. He did discover some remains however: 'a few stones and a broken line of what seems to have been a stone wall or earthwork. They stand on a small plateau which has its own water supply and which projects from the south side of the hill near but below the summit', a description which tallies with the earlier descriptions. He compared the site with similar sites in Angus and Fife which appear to be Pictish dwelling sites of the Dark Ages. Subsequent survey by the OS in 1958 identified Wainwright's walling running along the crest of the quarry and identified it as modern and of no consequence. Further survey by the OS in 1966 failed to identify Wainwright's site at the given coordinates of NO 5035 4930, but a broad terrace which follows the 700 ft contour between NO 5073 4956 and NO 5092 4956 was identified as having a spring about half way along the terrace but no trace of a wall or earthwork.

, (Photograph). SAB27334.

OSA, 1791-9, [Untitled], Vol, 1, 419 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9575.

NSA, 1845, [Untitled], Vol. 11, (Forfar), 142, 144, 146 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6249.

Wainwright, F T, 1948, Antiquity 22, 94-5 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11214.

RCAHMS, 1978, [Untitled], 17, no. 101 (Bibliographic reference). SAB7288.

TAYLOR, D B, 1990, CIRCULAR HOMESTEADS IN NW PERTHSHIRE (Bibliographic reference). SAB1975.

Record last edited

Nov 15 2022 10:38AM