Dunadd
Dunadd (or Dunadd or Fort Hill Fort; actually add Dun ) is located north of Lochgilphead and south of Kilmartin near the River Add in Argyll and Bute (Scotland ) on a 50 m high cliff. The A816 road is a few hundred meters east of the iron temporal Hill forts, which is mentioned twice in the "Annals of Ulster ". " Dun - Add" takes its name after the nearby River Add.
Dunadd was between 500 and 900 AD as the main and the coronation of the Kingdom of Dalriada the most important place in Scotland. The AD during the Dark ages, from about 500 BC, primarily from County Antrim in Northern Ireland immigrant Scots founded the kingdom.
Dunadd was excavated by archaeologists in 1904, 1929, 1950 and most recently in the 1980s. It originally had four walls at different levels. The layout with the outer defense line around a stronghold corresponded almost said Castle Motte and Bailey type, which the Normans introduced until centuries later.
On the top of a small section of the original fortress wall is obtained. A slab of rock on the summit has a sunken cavity, whose purpose is unknown. Another bears the imprint of a foot carved into the rock. It is believed that the king of Dalriada, was dedicated to Irish tradition, by placing his foot into the rocky replica. Nearby is an Ogham text, by Katherine Forsyth of the 9th century, engraved, whose meaning is unknown. The engraving of a wild boar (or a bear ) on a slab of rock was moved into the garden of one of the houses at the foot of the fortress.
The archaeologists found that the kings during the Dark Ages enjoyed rare dishes, exquisite food, imported herbs and expensive clothing dyes. In the analyzes, there were traces of dill and coriander. About 20 stones belong to rotary hand mills, which were associated with D -Ware. Jewelry was made from 650 AD, under Link Pictish, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon design elements locally made of gold, silver, amber and glass, in the form of brooches and pins. Some engraved stone fragments and a supporter of slate, with depictions of animals and rosettartigen node patterns among the features. It is quite possible that the reputed as an Irish work " Hunterston brooch " was produced in Dunadd. Continental ceramics, finely crafted glassware and raw materials from the Mediterranean show long-distance trade.
Immediately to the east, near the Dunaff farm, are the two menhirs Dunadd. The larger is 4.3 m long.