The fort of Clatchard Craig was located on a hill of the same name by the
Tay. A human presence on the site has been identified from the
neolithic period
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
onward and the fort itself was occupied from the sixth century AD until at least the eighth century.
[The site record for Clatchard Craig at RCAHMS](_blank)
/ref> It stood close to several places which were centres of secular and religious power during the early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
including Abernethy
Abernethy may refer to:
Places Scotland
* Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, a village
** Abernethy (NBR) railway station, a former railway station in this village
* Nethy Bridge, Highland, a village formerly known as Abernethy
* Abernethy Forest, ...
,[The Monuments of Abernethy at RCAHMS](_blank)
/ref> Forteviot
Forteviot ( gd, Fothair Tabhaicht) (Ordnance Survey ) is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The population in 1991 was 160.
The pres ...
,[A discussion of Pictish Forteviot](_blank)
/ref>[Current Archeological Excavations at Forteviot](_blank)
/ref> Scone
A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...
and Moncreiffe.[Moncrieffe Hill at RCAHMS](_blank)
/ref> As such it seems to have been an important stronghold of the Picts
The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from e ...
.
In the late twentieth century AD Clatchard Craig was entirely destroyed by quarrying for aggregate authorised by the British Ministry of Transport.[Excavation Summary by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland](_blank)
/ref> The former site of the fort, now privately owned,[Breedon Aggregates Limited.](_blank)
/ref> remains a quarry.
Location of the fort
The fort of Clatchard Craig was situated on a hill of 119m height overlooking the coastal plain of the Tay. The town of Newburgh, founded during the Middle Ages, now occupies the land between the site of the fort and the river. The fort stood on the western side of the mouth of a valley which led south to central Fife. The eastern side of the valley-mouth was occupied by the peak of 'Mare's Craig' which produced several ancient artefacts but was never excavated.[Mare's Craig at RCAHMS.](_blank)
/ref> 'Mare's Craig' was also destroyed by quarrying during the twentieth century. A single-walled fort known as 'Black Cairn Hill' is situated to the south-west of the former Clatchard Craig and is still largely intact.[Site record of Black Cairn Hill at RCAHMS](_blank)
/ref>
History before excavation
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland.
The usua ...
interprets the name of Clatchard Craig as deriving from the Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
elements 'clach', 'ard' and 'creag', or 'stone', 'high' and 'crag' respectively. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the hill of Clatchard Craig once held a freestanding pillar of stone, 27m high, which was demolished in 1846 during the construction of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway
The Edinburgh and Northern Railway was a railway company authorised in 1845 to connect Edinburgh to both Perth and Dundee. It relied on ferry crossings of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay, but despite those disadvantages it proved extreme ...
.
The first known reference to the site is in a manuscript of the early seventeenth century by James Balfour of Denmilne. While discussing his home of Denmylne Castle
Denmylne CastleCoventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.144 is a ruined 16th-century tower house, about south east of Newburgh, Fife, Fife, Scotland, and north west of Lindores Loch
It may be known alternatively as De ...
he wrote:Balfour provided no justification for his claim that the fort was destroyed by Roman forces. Clatchard was subsequently mentioned by Robert Sibbald
Sir Robert Sibbald (15 April 1641 – August 1722) was a Scottish physician and antiquary.
Life
He was born in Edinburgh, the son of David Sibbald (brother of Sir James Sibbald) and Margaret Boyd (January 1606 – 10 July 1672). Educated at t ...
in 1711 who attributed its construction to the Romans. Clatchard Craig lay close to the authentic Roman site of Carpow
Carpow () is a diffuse hamlet (place), hamlet in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated immediately to the east of the confluence of the River Tay and River Earn, 2 km north east of Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, Abernethy.
Etymology
...
, a legionary fortress of the Severan era.[Site record of Carpow at RCAHMS](_blank)
/ref>
Quarrying in the area began with the arrival of the railway and, due to the hill's valuable andesite
Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...
geology, which provided raw material for the building of roads and railways, the excavations continued. As the quarry approached the perimeter of the fort the British Ministry of Works conducted two rescue excavations in 1954–55 and 1959–60 intended to investigate the site before its destruction. Between the two World Wars the British Ministry of Works petitioned for an end to the quarrying but was over-ruled by the Ministry of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
. The quarrying then continued unchallenged.
Archeological excavations
The two excavations of Clatchard Craig, with other archaeological discoveries, allow an outline of the site's history to be described. The earliest signs of human activity on the site were pottery fragments and a petrosphere Petrosphere (from Greek πέτρα (''petra''), "stone", and σφαῖρα (''sphaira''), "ball") may refer to:
* Stone balls, a diverse class of archaeological artefact
** Particularly carved stone balls
Carved stone balls are petrospheres d ...
both dating to the neolithic period
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
. Continued occupation during the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
was indicated by the discovery of a cist burial and fragments of pottery identified with the beaker culture
The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from a ...
.
Iron-Age occupation attested by a scatter of pottery in both upper and lower enclosures. During the Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
the site continued to be used. A rotary quern
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand- grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...
, iron-age pottery and fragments of Samian ware
Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of t ...
were identified. However, few of these artefacts dated to the second and third centuries AD, when Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
was very active in central Scotland. During these centuries the Antonine Wall was occupied and Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
led a campaign in the area between 208 and 211 AD. The nearby Roman fortress of Carpow
Carpow () is a diffuse hamlet (place), hamlet in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated immediately to the east of the confluence of the River Tay and River Earn, 2 km north east of Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, Abernethy.
Etymology
...
was constructed under Severus.
The first evidence of permanent structures on Clatchard Craig date to the Dark Ages. While occupied as a fortress, it consisted of a series of six ramparts surrounding a building on the summit of the hill. It comprised three main structural phases, the latest being the sub-rectangular enclosure on top, which measured by , from which relics of early medieval date were obtained. This stood within a heavy oval rampart, by . The next rampart overlay a series of hearths in which pottery was found, and in this rampart were masonry blocks with adherent mortar in which were fragments of tile. The third rampart, like the two preceding, was timber-laced, later replaced by earth and stone. There were a further two ramparts with minor additions and supplementary features. The earliest two ramparts, built in timber-laced stone were dated to the sixth century AD by radiocarbon dating. Construction of the ramparts continued throughout the era with pieces of recycled Roman tile and mortared masonry included in the fabric. The fort's walls were vitrified
Vitrification (from Latin language, Latin ''vitreum'', "glass" via French language, French ''vitrifier'') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non-Crystallinity, crystalline amorphous solid. Glasses ...
at some point suggesting that the site had once been destroyed by fire. A date cannot be ascribed to either the burning of the fort nor its abandonment.
The presence of a paved hearth on the summit of the fort indicated a residence of high status while the discovery of clay moulds for the casting of pennanular brooches showed that elite craftsmen worked within the fort. The impression that the fort was a high-status site was reinforced by the discovery of an ingot of silver and by the presence of fine metalworking activity within its perimeter.
References
{{coord, 56.3463, -3.2252, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Archaeological sites in Fife
Celtic archaeological sites
Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland
Former buildings and structures in Scotland
Iron Age sites in Scotland
Hill forts in Scotland
History of Fife
Picts
Hills of Fife