Clan chief’s shoe buckle unearthed

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered artefacts including a shoe buckle thought to have belonged to a clan chief wounded in battle at Culloden.

A large number of musket balls and grapeshot have also been discovered in a 60sq m area close to what was the government frontline at Culloden Battlefield.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has revealed the findings ahead of the 278th anniversary of the battle on April 16 1746 which saw about 1,600 men killed in less than an hour and marked the end of the 1745 Jacobite rising.

Two items found in close proximity – a single piece of heavy, lead grapeshot and a broken copper alloy buckle – were of particular interest to NTS archaeologists.

It is thought the buckle may have belonged to Donald Cameron of Lochiel, the hereditary chief of Clan Cameron and a staunch Jacobite, who led the 400-strong Cameron regiment into the battle.

Derek Alexander, NTS head of archaeology, said: “The grapeshot has obviously hit something with great force as one side of the lead ball has been completely flattened.

“The juxtaposition of both these artefacts, recovered from the same hole and within 20-30m of the British Army frontline, is intriguing and the obvious conclusion would be that the grapeshot hit the shoe buckle and broke off one end.

“This is of particular significance as one of the most recounted stories of the Jacobite charge at Culloden is the wounding of Donald Cameron of Lochiel, known as the Gentle Lochiel.

“The late Christopher Duffy, a leading authority on the Battle of Culloden, tells how Lochiel, advancing at the head of his regiment (the Camerons), was so near Barrell’s (government regiment) that he fired his pistol, and was drawing his

sword when he fell, wounded with grapeshot in both ankles.

“This description shows us that Lochiel was hit in the ankles charging forward and if he had been wearing shoes with buckles, it is possible that these would have been hit and partly absorbed the impact.

“We can’t prove that this is what happened but both objects combine

to tell the story of the terrible events that took place on that day.”

Donald Cameron of Lochiel (16951748) played a key role in the 1745 Rising. Despite being wounded at Culloden, he managed to escape to France with Bonnie Prince Charlie in September 1746 and died of a stroke in northern France at the age of 53 in 1748.

HISTORIC FIND: Archaeologists found a shoe buckle and grapeshot.