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Dunkeld
- Prehistoric
"
Round thee, Duncaledon, the very air feels heavy with the past,
the tale of times that were."-Millar.
Dunkeld
had its beginnings ere the written history of our land began.
The misty glamour of an unknown past surrounds its origin. It
was the Capital of the Kaledonoi, a tribe in the midlands of
the ancient kingdom of Piotavia, when the Romans arrived; but,
even at an earlier date, judging from the stone monuments numerous
in the neighbourhood, it was the tribal resort of an earlier
race. Centuries before the advent of Christianity, and before
the Pictish nation emerged from the darkness of the past, the
rude races who wandered o'er the hills or sheltered in the dense
forests found in this natural stronghold beside the Tay a safe
and suitable place for the performance of religious ceremonials
or sepulchral rites. Records of this are graven on stone, mysterious
and as yet not fully understood, though affording glimpses of
bygone customs, from which modern research is gradually building
up a knowledge of a prehistoric age.
Long
before the Picts are surmised to have come from the Continent
to Britain, it is supposed that the land was inhabited by the
Neolithic race, a people of small stature, copper skins, and
dark hair. The stone circles and cup-marked stones are generally
attributed to them, and may either have been places of worship
or of burial. Signs point to both.
Of
these, the Dunkeld valley has its share. In the park near Polney
Loch, one mile from Dunkeld, is a Standing Stone, quite noticeable
from the Highland road. This monolith is one of those styled
sepulchral, and is a rough oblong slab of schist, its basal
girth being 10 feet 7 inches, and its height 4 feet 9 inches.
Mr. Coles, who describes this stone in the " Proceedings
of the Society of Antiquaries,'~ supposes it to have been part
of a circle. It is not far from the ancient stronghold on King's
Seat. The same writer also mentions that two other stones of
this nature were marked on the Ordnance Survey Map nearer the
Cathedral, but he professed himself, after prolonged search,
unable to find them. So have others. At Dowally, four miles
farther north, are two of a similar kind, massive blocks of
quartziferous sehist, the highest being 8 feet 9 inches.
Two
miles east of Dunkeld are the Standing Stones of Newtyle, commonly
called the Druid Stones, near the " Doos Nest," a
projecting crag on the road to Caputh. These Stones were probably
monuments before the Druidic period, but the Druids or Pictish
Priests generally annexed such monuments, and the name clings
through the ages. The Newtyle Stones are possibly remains of
a Circle; it is conjectured that, as a spur of Newtyle Hill
rises sharply behind, the remainder of the Circle might have
been where the road now runs, and had been destroyed during
its construction. They are of common quartzose schist differing
in height. The largest is over 6 feet at the north corner and
3 feet at the east. A fence divides them from the road; unfortunately,
owing to the growth of ferns, bushes, and trees, there is a
danger that they may soon be lost to sight. Dr Marshall in his
" Historic Scenes of Perthshire " alludes to these
two upright stones at the Doc's Nest, but says they are supposed
to mark the graves of two Danish warriors returning from the
invasion of Dunkeld. Antiquarian research, however, as reported
in the Society's Proceedings, places them among pre-historic
monuments.
At
Easter Cults, a mile or two beyond Newtyle, is a remarkable
group of stones, consisting of two upright and one prostrate,
placed on a ridge running east and west, at a height of 668
feet above sea-level, commanding a magnificent view of the wide
Howe of Strathmore. The larger standing stone is 9 feet high,
broad at the base, the other not much smaller. The third is
cup-marked, over 2 feet in height, sloping towards the ground,
its broad surface pitted all over with groups of cups, those
strange indentations with concentric circles and connecting
lines which have puzzled many wise and learned men. The groupings,
some hold, are astronomical; others contend that they record
great events of the past, whilst one fanciful theory has it
that the cups are hollows in which water libations were poured
to the Sun-God. On this stone there are about 158 cup-shaped
depressions, varying in diameter from 1 to 4 inches. There seems
no special design in the arrangement of the cups, and none are
surrounded by rings, a common feature in some cases. The three
stones are rough unhewn blocks of metamorphic slate of greenish
hue, but the colouring is varied on the prostrate one, probably
owing in part to weather protection. One writer suggests that
there are indications of these three forming part of a huge
circle about 78 feet in diameter, an uncommon size in Perthshire.
Near
the Slate Quarries on Birnarn Hill are two other groups of cupmarks.
On the upper surface of one rock is a group of twenty well formed
and deeply cut. On a detached mass near is a second group. These
sculpturings are more fully described in Chapter 16, "
Birnarn." Another cup-marked stone is at Kincairney, near
the site of an ancient chapel, the foundations of which are
almost covered with turf. Still another is at Cardney, and,
in addition, are numerous cairns, standing stones, and remains
of circles on Ben-echallie and in Strathbraan. Some would even
include the famous Rocking Stone on the top of Craig-y-barns
in the collection of ancient monuments, occupying, as it does,
such a prominent site. Geologists, however, claim it as a perched
boulder, relic of the Ice Age, but this does not altogether
preclude the possibility that it might have been in use as a
rude altar for the worship of the sun. Near Meikie Obney, beyond
Birnam, is a Standing Stone to which a curious legend is attached.
A witeh flying through the air on a Satanic behest had this
stone in her lap, and it fell, hence it is termed the Witch's
Stone.
Whilst
these various stone monuments confirm the idea that Dunkeld
had the makings of a community in very early ages, the name
itself suggests considerable antiquity, and has been the subject
of much conjecture and dispute. In the Statistical Accounts
of Scotland, dated 1798, the name is mentioned as Dunkeldin,
Dunchald, or Dunchalden, derived from Dunghaeldhun, meaning
the Stronghold of the Gaels or the Hazels. Dr Marshall in "
Historic Scenes
also
derives the name from the Gaelic Dunghaildhun, thence to Duncalidon,
interpreting this as the fort of the Gaels, which he states
was probably situated on the King's Seat. This is a small terraced
hill, a spur of Craig-y-barns, bearing the remains of an old
fort, said to be the abode of Pictish Royalty from 446 to 843
A.D. But Buchanan, the Scottish historian, makes out that Dunchalden,
or Hill of the Hazels, is the mound known as Stanley Hill, near
the Cathedral. Anciently this was, he says, a small knoll where
the town's children amused themselves by wrestling and other
games, it being then named the Shawkie Hill, or, as it is referred
to in certain old registers, the " Shiochie's Hill, a little
hillock within the City of Dunkeld." To understand this
assertion it must be remembered that the position of Dunkeld
has changed more than once. Before the battle of 1689 the town
stretched westwards at least five acres beyond the Cathedral.
In 1690, it was rebuilt towards the east, and former parts of
the town, such as the hillock in question, are now within the
ducal policies. This mound was afterwards heightened and terraced
in military fashion, in imitation of German fortifications,
by the Dukes of Atholl, and cannon placed on the ramparts.
A
third derivation is supplied by David Millar, author of a poem
entitled " The Tay," published at Perth in 1850. According
to him, Duncaledon or Dunkelden, the ancient form of the present
name, signifies the stronghold of the rough, mountainous country.
MacLean's
Guide, " Dunkeld; Its Straths and Glens," derives
the name from the ancient British words " Dun~ kaled-in
or Caledonia or Dunchuildich, signifying the "Stronghold
of the Culdees." This latter is an unlikely derivation,
as there was a fort prior to the establishment of the Culdee
faith. The same objection applies to another derivation sometimes
offered, viz., " Dunchaiin," from Dun, a hill, and
cailin," a maid, whence " Hill of the Virgin Mary."
A last version is Dunchallion, " City of the Forests."
Dunkeld,
because of its situation on the verge of a great mountain barrier,
with an opening towards verdant plains, naturally enough became
a place of strategic importance. The appellation, " Gates
of the Mountains," was applied to the Pass formed by Birnam
and Newtyle Hills on either side of the Tay. These hills, with
Craig-y-barns and Craigvinean, enclose Dunkeld, forming a natural
stronghold, and it is not therefore surprising to find that
the warlike Picts established a fort or castle there. This Castle
of Caledon was probably one of the first civic centres in Scotland.
It was the capital of a Pictish State, and a residence of Pictish
kings. The King's Seat is generally supposed to have been the
stronghold, the remains of fortifications and outworks strengthening
this belief, and tradition also avers that a skirmish of some
kind took place near it. To the south is the Pley Burn,"
interpreted locally as " The burn of discord or quarrel."
The castle or residence was important enough to bring the Romans
to the vicinity, though they did not penetrate far enough to
attempt its capture. The Roman Camp at Inchtuthill, six miles
from Dunkeld, was constructed by Agricola in 84 A.D. Recent
excavations show that the Romans remained a considerable time
in this camp, and it is considered highly probable that their
objective was the Pictish stronghold at Dunkeld. Inchtuthill
was one of the Roman posts or stations which commanded the whole
of the Stormont and every road which could lead the Caledonians
or northern tribes down from Atholl and Glenshee into the countries
below.
Distinct
from this Roman Camp at Inchtuthill is a British fort at the
west end of the island, older than the Roman occupation.
The
Dunkeld stronghold or castle of Caledon was menaced several
times by the Romans, but unsuccessfully. One of the early dates
of an unsuccessful invasion is 138 A.D.
Scanty
and meagre is the knowledge of these early Picts, who appear
to have been simply a number of warlike tribes with various
strongholds or oapitals, of which Dunkeld formed one. The town,
if such it could be named, would possibly resemble other Pictish
settlements, and be a circle of low, rude, roofless huts. The
Castle, though claiming to be an abode of royalty, would be
little better, but would possess fortifications, probably of
stone, or, it may be, partly earthen.
Dunkeld
an Ancient City
Elizabeth Stewart
Dunkeld, 1926
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