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Iron Age Britain, Barry Cunliffe

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Dunnicaer Hillfort - Hillfort in Scotland in Aberdeenshire

Submitted by golux on Saturday, 18 April 2015  Page Views: 7733

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Dunnicaer Hillfort Alternative Name: Dun-Na-Caer, Stonehaven, Dinnacair
Country: Scotland County: Aberdeenshire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Stonehaven
Map Ref: NO88218464
Latitude: 56.952858N  Longitude: 2.195456W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 2 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 1 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by hamilton : This side-on view of Dunnicaer Promontory Fort shows the corroded nature of its supporting sea stack, with caves undercutting it and holes eroded clean through it. Most probably, the stack was joined to the neighbouring cliffs by a natural arch in Pictish Times (thus giving easy access). With the arch long since collapsed, the stack is inaccessible without specialised equipment today. (Vote or comment on this photo)
An ancient settlement appears to have been situated on the, now inaccessible, isolated rock called Dunnicaer, or Dun-na-caer, a sea-stack which stands detached from the cliffs 700m N of Dunnottar Castle. The summit of the stack is covered in deep tussocky turf and, although there are a few loose stones around the edges, no trace of any structure is visible.

In 1832 some local youths climbed the stack and threw several stones into the sea from a low, buried, wall along part of the edge of the rock. Subsequently a number of them were recovered, at least six of them bearing Pictish symbols. Alexander Thomson (1862) purchased five of the stones and had them preserved at Banchory House where four of them are built into a wall.

In 2015 a team from Aberdeen University uncovered the remains of house, a fireplace and ramparts. Lead archaeologist Gordon Noble said: “Here we’ve got clear evidence of people living on the sea stack at least for part of the year. Certainly people are living here for long enough to create this really nice, well constructed hearth and these lovely floor layers.”

Access to this remote cliff-top site is extremely difficult and dangerous.

Note: 'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven
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Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by hamilton : This close-up photograph of the summit of the Dunnicaer Sea Stack shows the extent of the archaeological excavations. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by hamilton : The work party excavating the remains of this Pictish promontory fort can be seen on the summit of the sea stack. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by hamilton : This is Dunnicaer Promontory Fort, just south of Dunnottar Castle, where Aberdeen University archaeologists discovered remains of a Pictish Fort/Settlement. This is the view from the clifftops to the west, and the 'dig' in progress can be clearly seen. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by golux : Truly inaccessible (without climbing gear or helicopter) location! Map supplied by the wonderful Wheresthepath website, using the OS map (© Ordnance Survey) and Google Maps (© DigitalGlobe, Getmapping plc). (Vote or comment on this photo)

Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by golux : Hearth stones uncovered in the 2015 dig by a team from Aberdeen University.

Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by golux : Four of the symbol stones found at Dunnicaer, now mounted in a wall at Banchory House. (2 comments)

Dunnicaer Hillfort
Dunnicaer Hillfort submitted by golux : Michael of the Aberdeen University team with the uncovered rampart.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 747m S 188° Dunnotar Castle* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (NO881839)
 1.8km W 278° Woods of Dunnottar Cairn* Cairn (NO864849)
 2.7km NNW 328° St Ciaran's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (NO868869)
 3.3km WNW 292° Kirktown of Fetteresso* Ancient Village or Settlement (NO851859)
 3.7km WNW 287° Fetteresso Cursus Cursus (NO84698570)
 4.8km WSW 254° Dunnottar Stone Circle (NO836833)
 4.9km N 353° Kempston Hill* Standing Stones (NO87678947)
 5.6km NW 304° Cheynehill Wood Enclosures Ancient Village or Settlement (NO836878)
 5.7km N 358° Cantlayhills Cairn (NO880903)
 5.8km NNW 337° White Hill, Aberdeenshire Ancient Village or Settlement (NO860900)
 5.9km NW 321° Findlayston Enclosure Ancient Village or Settlement (NO845892)
 6.2km NW 322° Newbigging Earthwork Ancient Village or Settlement (NO844896)
 6.4km N 358° Causey Mounth* Ancient Trackway (NO8891)
 6.8km NW 324° Raedykes Roman Camp* Hillfort (NO842902)
 7.2km NW 304° Glenton Hill Enclosure Ancient Village or Settlement (NO823887)
 7.2km SW 235° Bruxie Hill Chambered Cairn (NO823805)
 7.2km SSW 203° Kinneff Cursus Cursus (NO85407800)
 7.7km NW 319° Raedykes SE* Stone Circle (NO832905)
 7.7km NW 319° Campstone Hill Ring Cairn (NO832905)
 7.8km NW 320° Raedykes NW* Stone Circle (NO832906)
 7.8km SW 225° Cotbank Of Barras* Stone Circle (NO827791)
 8.0km WNW 288° Fetteresso Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NO80598713)
 8.4km WNW 289° Clochanshiels Ancient Village or Settlement (NO803874)
 8.5km NW 316° Auquhollie* Standing Stone (Menhir) (NO82339080)
 9.1km WSW 251° Blackhill Wood* Chambered Cairn (NO796817)
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"Dunnicaer Hillfort" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Re: 'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven by SumDoood on Wednesday, 29 May 2019
(User Info | Send a Message)
https://vimeo.com/325854529 This film explores the investigations conducted by Aberdeen University.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: 'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven by golux on Friday, 02 August 2019
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    This short video about the discovery of a significant Pictish settlement is absolutely fascinating and shows how it would have looked before the supporting landscape fell into the sea.
    Also available on YouTube.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: 'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven by Alta-Falisa on Sunday, 19 April 2015
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WOW... I'll be in there in 2 weeks...
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Re: 'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven by Andy B on Sunday, 19 April 2015
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For more info search for Dunnicaer on the Aberdeenshire SMR
http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/smrpub/shire/default.aspx
(access Monday to Friday only at present)
With thanks to Claire Herbert for the link
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: 'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven by golux on Monday, 20 April 2015
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    For more information you cannot do better than visit the RCAHMS site to access the gigantic database of Canmore site records - and it is available 24/7 unlike this limited local council website. Just click the icon at the top of this page, the one with little squiggles like pictish symbols, between the beer mug icon and the plane icon.
    [ Reply to This ]

'Significant' Pictish fort found on Aberdeenshire coast near Stonehaven by Andy B on Saturday, 18 April 2015
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Archaeologists have uncovered a "very significant" Pictish fort after scaling a remote sea stack off the coast of Aberdeenshire.

The team from the University of Aberdeen believe the ancient remains could be one of many along the coast south of Stonehaven.

It is the first time an official excavation has been carried out there.

Pictish symbol stones were said to be found on the Dunnicaer sea stack by locals in the 19th Century.

Until this latest discovery, it was unclear whether the site held other historical remains.

The Aberdeen team believe they have found the remains of a house, a fireplace and ramparts.

More at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-32325310

...however Golux adds: Personally, I am not yet convinced this is a Pictish construction. In every other instance of pictish symbol stones being incorporated into a wall that I know, the wall was of much later construction, clearly not Pictish.

More discussion here
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=Forum&file=viewtopic&topic=6629&forum=1&start=0
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