Dunnideer
- Vitrified Fort
Grid
ref: NJ 612 281 Ordnance Survey Landranger series sheet no. 37
12 miles NW
of Inverurie. Access to the group of monuments on Dunnideer Hill is by a signposted
footpath from minor road from Insch to Clashindarroch Forrest about 1 mile W
of Insch , off the B 992.
The
Medieval Castle, the most prominent feature in the hill, stands inside, and
is built from the debris of, an oblong vitrified fort, a maximum length approximately
70 m, which crowns the summit. Outworks, most clearly marked on the E, may be
associated with this phase. Early features in the interior include a depression
adjacent to the castle, which is probably the remains of a cistern or a well.
A rectilinear building, set at right angles to the main axis of the vitrified
fort, is certainly later in date. Further out and downslope, traces of slight
banks and ditches can be noted: these represent an unfinished defensive scheme,
almost certainly later in date than the vitrified fort. On both the N and S
slopes, traces of what appear as small grass-covered quarry scoops, fronted
by level platforms c 8 m in diameter, can be noted. These represent the stances
for timber round-houses which may date from as early as 1200 BC.
© Brigantes Nation 2002