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Castle MacEwen
Castle MacEwen ( gd, Caisteal Mhic Eoghainn) is a ruined fort in the Cowal peninsula, on the east shore of Loch Fyne in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is near Kilfinan, around south of Otter Ferry. History The site was a medieval dun, which was superseded by a promontory fort, and later by a medieval homestead. The site is linked to the Clan MacEwen who are associated with the Loch Fyne area. The castle was held by Clan Ewen of Otter. In the year 1432 the chief Swene MacEwen of Otter surrendered his barony to King James I who regranted it with a destination to Celestine Campbell in the event that Swene should die without an heir. Thus when Swene died in 1493, the lands passed to a branch of Clan Campbell along with the castle. Campbell 1911: pp. 275–276. An excavation project led by the Cowal Archaeological Society in 1968-69 found that the earliest structure that stood on the site was a palisaded enclosure of medieval date. Results from the excavations also showed tha ...
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Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar Alps and Ardgoil peninsula in the north fringe the edges of the sea lochs whilst the forest park spreads out across the hillsides and mountain passes, making Cowal one of the remotest areas in the west of mainland Scotland. The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park extends into Cowal. The peninsula is separated from Knapdale by Loch Fyne, and from Inverclyde and North Ayrshire to the east by the Firth of Clyde. Loch Long and its arm, Loch Goil are to the north-east. The south of the peninsula is split into three forks by Loch Striven and Loch Riddon (Loch Ruel). The Isle of Bute lies to the south separated by the narrow Kyles of Bute which connect the Firth of Clyde to Loch Riddon. Cowal's only burgh is Dunoon in the south-east, fro ...
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Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll. History Origins In traditional genealogies of the Clan Campbell, the clan's origins are placed amongst the ancient Britons of Strathclyde; the earliest Campbell in written records is Gillespie who is recorded in 1263. Early grants to Gillespie and his relations were almost all in east-central Scotland, but the family's connection with Argyll came some generations before, when a Campbell married the heiress of the O'Duines and she brought with her the Lordship of Loch Awe. Because of this the early clan name was ''Clan O' Duine'' and this was later supplanted by the style ''Clann Diarmaid''. This name came from a fancied connection to ''Diarmid the Boar'', a great hero from early Celtic mythology. ...
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Ruined Castles In Argyll And Bute
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate destruction by humans, or uncontrollable destruction by natural phenomena. The most common root causes that yield ruins in their wake are natural disasters, armed conflict, and population decline, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and scavenging. There are famous ruins all over the world, with notable sites originating from ancient China, the Indus Valley and other regions of ancient India, ancient Iran, ancient Israel and Judea, ancient Iraq, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Roman sites throughout the Mediterranean Basin, and Incan and Mayan sites in the Americas. Ruins are of great importance to historians, archaeologists and anthropologists, whether they were once individual fort ...
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Castles In Argyll And Bute
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; from a ''pleasance'' which was a walled-in residence for nobility, but not adequately fortified; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Use of the term has varied over time and has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th-20th century homes built to resemble castles. Over the approximately 900 years when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were ...
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Archaeological Sites In Argyll And Bute
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology is distinct from palaeontology, which is the study of fossil remains. Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, by definition, there are no written records. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of ...
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Groat (coin)
The groat is the traditional name of a defunct English and Irish silver coin worth four pence, and also a Scottish coin which was originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and one shilling. Name The name has also been applied to any thick or large coin, such as the ''Groschen'' (''grosso''), a silver coin issued by Tyrol in 1271 and Venice in the 13th century, which was the first of this general size to circulate in the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe. The immediate ancestor to the groat was the French '' gros tournois'' or groat of Tours, which was known as the ''groot'' (Dutch for "great" or "large") in the Netherlands. The name also refers to a range of other European coins such as those of the Italian peninsula known as a ''grosso'' including the grosso of Venice and the Kraków grosz in Poland. Marco Polo referred to the groat in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the Yuan Empire. His descripti ...
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Vitrified Fort
Vitrified forts are stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected to vitrification through heat. It was long thought that these structures were unique to Scotland, but they have since been identified in several other parts of western and northern Europe. Vitrified forts are generally situated on hills offering strong defensive positions. Their form seems to have been determined by the contour of the flat summits which they enclose. The walls vary in size, a few being upwards of high, and are so broad that they present the appearance of embankments. Weak parts of the defence are strengthened by double or triple walls, and occasionally vast lines of ramparts, composed of large blocks of unhewn and unvitrified stones, envelop the vitrified centre at some distance from it. The walls themselves are termed vitrified ramparts. No lime or cement has been found in any of these structures, all of them presenting the peculiarity of being more or less consolidated by the fusion of the ro ...
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Posthole
In archaeology a posthole or post-hole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide; however, truncation may not make this apparent. Although the remains of the timber may survive, most postholes are mainly recognisable as circular patches of darker earth when viewed in plan. Archaeologists can use their presence to plot the layout of former structures, as the holes may define its corners and sides. Construction using postholes is known as earthfast or post in ground construction. Parts of a posthole Although a very common structure, and one of the most basic found in archaeology, correct interpretation relies on being able to tell the often subtle differences that distinguish the parts of the posthole. The components of an archaeological posthole are listed in order of creation and, in ideal circumstances, the reverse order of their excavation. ;Posthole cut This is the cut that formed the hole. It is cut from the ground ...
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James I Of Scotland
James I (late July 139421 February 1437) was King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of Rothesay, died under suspicious circumstances during detention by their uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany. James' other brother, Robert, died young. Fears surrounding James's safety grew through the winter of 1405/6 and plans were made to send him to France. In February 1406, James was forced to take refuge in the castle of the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth after his escort was attacked by supporters of Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas. He remained at the castle until mid-March, when he boarded a vessel bound for France. On 22nd March, English pirates captured the ship and delivered the prince to Henry IV of England. The ailing Robert III died on 4 April and the 11-year-old James, now the uncrowned King of Scots, would not regain his freedom fo ...
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Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs in Scotland. It is connected to the Sound of Jura by the Crinan Canal. Although there is no evidence that grapes have grown there, the title is probably honorific, indicating that the river, (river Fyne), was a well-respected river. In the north the terrain is mountainous, with the Arrochar Alps, , Glen Shira, Glen Fyne, Glen Croe, Arrochar, Tyndrum and Loch Lomond nearby. It is overlooked by the Tinkers' Heart, an old travellers' monument. It was a place for weddings to traditionally take place. Transport Roads The loch has several roads surrounding it. The A83 goes round the head of the loch then travels down the west coast of Loch Fyne, from Ardrishaig to Tarbert along the Kn ...
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Clan Ewen Of Otter
Clan Ewen of Otter (Gaelic: ''Clann Eóghain na h-Oitrich''), was a Scottish clan which once controlled the area around Kilfinan on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll. Origin Clan Ewen of Otter claimed descent from Donnsleibhe, who was said to be a descendant of an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty named Ánrothán Ua Néill, who left Ireland for Kintyre in the 11th century. He was a son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, died 1036. There are several other Argyll clans which claim a descent from this prince—Clan Lamont, Clan Maclachlan, Clan MacNeil of Barra, and also the MacSweens who left Scotland to settle in Ireland in the 14th century. From this descent, these clans claim a further descent from the legendary Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland, who lived from the mid 4th century to the early 5th century. The only genealogy to survive regarding Clan Ewen of Otter, is the so-called MS 1467, now held in the National Library ...
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Clan MacEwen
Clan MacEwen or Clan MacEwan is a Scottish clan recorded in the fifteenth century as Clan Ewen of Otter. Historically, there have been several different MacEwen clans and septs, with some distinct, and some interrelated, origins for the modern surname. Each of these historical clans could be described by the name, "Clan MacEwen" or, at times, "Clan Ewen". Since the death of Swene MacEwen in 1493, the clan has not had a chief recognized by either the members, or the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and as such Clan MacEwen is considered an Armigerous clan. As of 2020, members of Clan MacEwen Society, UK have agreed to elect a Commander, Sir John Roderick Hugh McEwen, 5th Baronet (born 1965), of Marchmont and Bardrochat, who is proposed as the first Chief to potentially be recognized by the Lord Lyon since the death of Swene MacEwen. The McEwen Baronet title was created in 1953 by Queen Elizabeth II for his father, Conservative politician Sir John McEwen, 1st Baronet. Historically, th ...
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