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|
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| After
meeting up with Fraser and Paul, the three of us headed
north to Dunnet Head to take the ferry from Gill's Bay
to Saint Margaret's Hope in Orkney. We had a day in
Edinburgh before we set out and Fraser and I spent it
in the Borders, visiting the hillfort and broch complex
at Edin's Hall. |
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|
Edin's
Hall |
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| Edin's
Hall lies on the slopes of Cockburn Law, overlooking
the Whiteadder Water. There are three elements present—
a hillfort with a double set of earthen ramparts, a
stone ‘broch’ and a settlement of circular
huts. The worn ramparts and silted up ditches of the
original fort are represented by the low ridges running
diagonally through the above photograph. |
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|
Edin's
Hall Broch from the Southwest |
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| The
interior of the broch is 18 metres in diameter—much
larger than the towered structures found in the north.
The walls stand to a maximum height of two metres and
it may well be that the original building was not much
higher. More typical of broch construction are the intramural
cells, used for storage and domestic purposes. The one
next to the entrance seems to have served as a guard
room. |
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|
Edin's
Hall Broch. Cell adjacent to the entrance passage |
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| From
Edinburgh we drove north through Perthshire and Glenshee
to Deeside. From there, we followed the river east to
Aberdeen. |
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|
The
River Dee at Ballater |
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|
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| The
defining prehistoric monument of the Grampian region
is the recumbent stone circle, a dozen or so uprights
with a large stone lying on edge between the tallest
pair (see the title photograph, above, of Old Keig).
At Sunhoney (below) this recumbent stone has fallen
over. |
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|
Sunhoney.
Recumbent Stone Circle |
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|
Loanhead
of Daviot. Recumbent Stone Circle (© Fraser Allan) |
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| During
the early Medieval period (the so-called Dark Ages)
the Grampian region was the heart of the Pictish kingdom
and the region is dotted with their monuments, their
so-called symbol stones and cross slabs. The Maiden
Stone near Chapel of Garioch is one of a very few still
in situ. It is a cross slab but the side with the cross
is very badly weathered and virtually illegible. The
reverse has a typical mix of imagery and symbols—
a mirror and a comb, a “Pictish Beast” (also
known as a bottle-nosed dolphin), a Z-rod, and a centaur
like animal. |
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|
The
Maiden Stone |
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| It
is impossible to escape the area around Aberdeen without
seeing at least one castle. This time it was Crathes,
near Banchory. The gardens were nice. |
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|
Crathes
Castle from the Gardens |
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|
The
Gardens at Crathes Castle |
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