Dunnideer Castle

Dunnideer (originally Dun Nideer, also Dunnydeer ) is a so-called Hill Fort on a 268 m high conical hill west of Insch, in the Scottish county of Aberdeenshire. Built in two phases system is formed by five reasonably concentric ramparts. The outer three, probably later ramparts remained unfinished.

Context

There are about 50 sites in Grampian, which were umwallt in prehistoric times. They extend from the stunning highland locations at Rhynie as Tap o ' Noth ( 563 m) up to the foothills on the coasts and were approximately between 900 BC and 900 AD in use. The plant on the hill plateau Dunnideer consists of a 65 x 25 m large area enclosed by the walls A and B, where B is no longer low and to the south completely. Access could not be identified. Be burnt remains of a wall that post holes for a top-up end wood construction ( Palisade ) had found in two places. On the slopes, there are two places where platforms were built for huts, which probably date from the period of the extension. The larger platform measures 12 by 7.5 m. About the time the walls burned Dunnideer, perhaps as a result of armed conflicts down. In the Grampian 's there are a number of so-called " unfinished fort ". One is on the opposite Dunnideer Hill of Christ's Kirk. More unfinished fort are Little Conval, Dufftown; Knockargetty Wood, Portsoy, Cromar and Durn Hill. Some of the boundary walls had perhaps only mark character or were just fences without fortifikativen character.

The stone circle

Remains of a stone circle type Recumbent Stone Circle, including the full range of " lying stone " lying on the edge of a forest between trees at Dunnnideer west of Insch. ( Range: 57 ° 20 ' 38 " N, 2 ° 39 ' 1" W57.343951 - 2.650218 )

The castle

The castle is one of the earliest in Scotland and probably dates from 1260 AD It is a simple rectangular tower, also built from the ruins of the former continued the stones were smoothed as usual in this period. This is an indication of an early date and is similar to the treatment of stones in the castles of Balvenie ( at Dufftown ) and Coull ( at Aboyne ). The ground floor was probably used for storage purposes and, therefore, lit only by two slit windows. The center of this castle was on the first floor, in the grand hall, which is now represented only by the fine pointed windows, which survived in the west wall. Here the gentlemen of Balliol, the nobles have built the tower, court held and eaten.