Excavation changes our Pictish history
‘Power centre’discovered under King’s Seat hillfort
The excavation of an ancient Perthshire fort has changed the history of Pictish Scotland.
Following an extensive survey of the King’s Seat hillfort in Dunkeld, experts have said they have discovered the site was a “power centre” of the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries.
Evidence of metal and textile production at the site, as well as fragments of European pottery and Anglo-Saxon glass beads, suggest the fort had strong trade links across continental Europe.
Other finds include Roman glass that was recycled and reused as gaming pieces.
Archaeologists who were working on the site say this is a discovery of “national significance”, as it extends Scotland’s early medieval trade links and the distribution of luxury goods beyond previously understood limits.
This has all been revealed in a new report on last year’s excavation of the site by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, Dunkeld and Birnam Historical Society, and AOC Archaeology.
Over the course of two weeks, the group, along with a team of 30 community volunteers, pupils from Pitlochry High School and archaeology students from the University of the Highlands and Islands, worked on the site to try and unlock the story of the Pictish fort.
The fort is situated to the north-west of Dunkeld on a major bend on the River Tay within the grounds of Dunkeld House Hotel.
It has long been an unaccessible site, having been overgrown with rhododendron for many years.
Archaeologists now suggest the wealth of the finds suggest the fort was a stronghold of the elite in the local Pictish population.
David Strachan, director of Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, said: “Today, Dunkeld has a great reputation as a social hub for arts, crafts and entertainment and our findings from King’s Seat suggest that the town’s hill top predecessor was just as vibrant in Pictish times.
“We have uncovered lots of evidence of how people were living and working, and the remains of a building with a large hearth on the summit, with fragments of glass drinking vessels, gaming pieces, animal bone and horn.
“They paint a vivid picture of high-status people gathering and feasting, decorated in the latest high-status jewellery and ornamentation.”
The evidence found, combined with carbon dating from some of the archaeological features, suggest the fort had significant influence over trade and production throughout the Pictish period (400-900 AD).
In the new report, all the artefacts the group found are detailed as being in keeping with other high-status, royal sites of early historic Scotland, including the Pictish royal centre of Dundurn near St Fillans on the banks of Loch Earn, and the early Dalriadic capital of Dunadd in Argyll.
Cath MacIver of AOC Archaeology said: “The crucibles, whetstones, stone and clay moulds indicate craft production took place and what’s particularly interesting is that evidence of this activity has been found in all of the trenches.
“There must have been a lot of iron and other metal working going on here making the site an important centre for production - not just the home of a small group of people making items for their own use.”
The report is a preliminary account of the excavation’s findings and further postexcavation analysis is still ongoing, with the full results of the project due to be published later this year.
The excavation project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Gannochy Trust and SSE’s Griffin and Calliacher Wind Farm Community Fund.