One more step at Dunadd Fort

It's my every second Saturday post at the Writing Wranglers and Warriors Blog today. 

Since I'm writing about my visit to Dunadd Fort earlier this week, I'm REBLOGGING the information that I wrote here. Photographs may differ! 

"In the footsteps of Kings

Early this week, I enjoyed a fabulous tour of a large swathe of Scotland on my way to attend a wedding on the west coast of Scotland. To get to my hotel at Lochgilphead, I had to drive about 240 miles across Scotland through some fabulous countryside. There is no direct route there because the Grampian Mountains get in the way! Because of the distance involved going to the wedding meant a 3 day trip. (Black dot to the right my home in Aberdeenshire; black dot to bottom left Lochgilphead; red dot Crear Wedding Venue on the coast of the Argyll Peninsula)

 

original image via scotland.com website

Of course it was just too tempting to not look into what I could do regarding sightseeing on the trip. I’ve been to the Argyll and Kintyre peninsula before but not specifically to see any ancient heritage sights. A little bit of research and I was happy dancing.

Dunadd Fort near Lochgilphead

Dunadd!  One of the most important sites in Scottish and northern Irish history.

Dunadd Fort was the ancient stronghold of the kings of Dal Riata from approximately AD 500 to AD 800, though the site has been used since the Iron Ages. Dunadd, meaning fort on the River Add, was only about 4 miles from my hotel. At about 175 feet high, there was a short climb involved but it was possible to squeeze in a quick jaunt between an early breakfast and a pick up at 1 p.m by the coach taking my husband and I to the wedding at Crear on the west coast of the Argyll Peninsula.

The pathway is well signposted

The rocky outcrop of Dunadd Fort rises from the flat valley which is now partially reclaimed farmland but otherwise bogland of - the Moine Mhor – meaning the ‘Great Moss’. It sits near the River Add and it’s possible that at one time it may have been an island. Dunadd was the royal centre of the kingdom of Dal Riata (also written as Dalriada), Dal Riata in Gaelic meaning Reiti’s Share or Reiti’s Tribe.

We learn from medieval text entries for AD 683 in The Annals of Ulster that the kings from Ireland, known as the ‘Scotti’ came to Dunadd and colonised the area- not a long sail since there are only around 11 miles between northern Ireland and the coast of Argyll. (NB the entries were recorded in The Annals of Ulster much later than AD 683 and are thought to have been copied from earlier original annals) The Scotti people were Gaels. They became the Kings of the Scots, gave the name to Scotland and gave it its Gaelic culture. The kingdom of Dal Riata stretched northwards to Ardnamurchan, south to the island of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre and westwards to Northern Ireland. The kings who lived at Dunadd were well-connected and had good contact with important individuals and peoples around Europe. The nearby sea, ships and sailors played a key role.

Remnants of the ramparts

When at its most popular, Dunadd Fort was surrounded by stone ramparts, possibly as many as four lines of fortifications.  Entry to the fort was via a natural cleft in the rock. There would have been wooden gates controlling access and inside the walls there were a number of houses and workshops.

A failed selfie in high wind

Dunadd was an important trade centre, iron and gold being smelted on site. The ‘raw’ gold probably came from Ireland and the product was fashioned into impressive elaborate jewellery. The smelted iron was formed into weapons. Wine and herbs were brought in from southern Europe. Traces of rare minerals from the far east have been found which were used to make dyes for scribes to use in colouring ecclesiastical manuscripts- on nearby Iona and other monasteries.  

The 'citadel' / king's mead house was above here

Climbing a little higher than the workshops level there was another set of ramparts below the summit where it’s thought an important stone ‘citadel’ was built on the flattened peak. This was the great hall, or mead house, of the king where important business was conducted and where feasting was likely in good times.

The inauguration stone

Just below the summit on a natural outcrop lies the inauguration stone of the kings of Dal Riata. The footprint carved deep into the rock is an impressive sign of Scottish kingship. During the coronation ceremony, when the new king placed his foot into the imprint he was not only pledging to do his utmost for his people of Dal Riata but was also pledging to be the ‘keeper of the land’ itself. 

Wow! My right foot hovering but guess what? It really does fit and it's only a size 5. 

Kings of Dal Riata from King Aedan mac Gabrain AD 574 - 608 ( probably the first Christian king) to Kenneth MacAlpin AD 834 - 859 were invested at Dunadd. Keneth MacAlpin is credited with the honour and achievement of uniting the kingdoms of both the Scots and the Picts at time of great pressure from maurauding Vikings.

King Aedan mac Gabrain would have been a familiar figure to St. Columba and his monks on the island of Iona which isn’t so far away.  By the time of Aedan’s accession, his inauguration ceremony would have been part pagan (his being married to the land) and part Christian (when he would have been blessed by the Abbot of Iona).

In Gaelic folklore it was the hero, Ossian, who leapt to Dunadd from Rhudle Hill one kilometre away. His foot gouged out the footprint, his knee on landing carved out the basin and his outstretched fingerprints possibly made the ogham script that is carved alongside on the stone.

The Well

Nancy Jardine

Dunadd lost its importance after the unification of the Scots and the Picts when the site of the kings moved to Scone, in Perthshire.

I’m extremely glad that I made the effort to spend the couple of hours at Dunadd and I didn’t have to rush too much to get changed into my glad rags for the wedding!

Slainthe!