Trusty's Hill is a small
vitrified
Vitrification (from Latin ''vitreum'', "glass" via French ''vitrifier'') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non-crystalline amorphous solid. Glasses differ from liquids structurally and glasses po ...
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
about a mile to the west of the present-day town of
Gatehouse of Fleet
Gatehouse of Fleet ( sco, Gatehoose o Fleet gd, Taigh an Rathaid) is a town half in the civil parish of Girthon and half in the parish of Anwoth divided by the river Water of Fleet, Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, within the district council region o ...
, in the parish of
Anwoth
Anwoth is a settlement near the Solway Firth in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, southwest Scotland, within a parish of the same name in the Vale of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway. Anwoth lies a mile (1.5 km) to the west of Gatehouse ...
in the Stewartry district of
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
.
The site is notable for a carved
Pictish stone
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are ...
located near the entrance to the fort, one of only a handful of such stones found outside the core
Pictish
Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...
heartland of North-East Scotland. Recent (2012) archaeological investigation has also found evidence of feasting and high-status metalworking at the site, and what has been interpreted as a constructed ceremonial processional route. Together these have led to speculation that the site might have been an important centre or location of royal inaugurations for a
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
kingdom centred in Galloway and South-West Scotland, circa 600 AD — perhaps to be identified with the elusive north British kingdom of
Rheged
Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ba ...
, which gained greatest prominence under its legendary leader
Urien
Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, i ...
at a similar time in the late 6th century before apparently utterly disappearing in the early 7th century.
Description and history
Trustys Hill Pictish Stone - Stuart 1856 - IA.jpg, 1856 drawing of the symbols on the stone. To the left is a double disc with Z-rod, to the right a fish monster and a sword. The head with antennae is a 19th-century addition.
Pictish Symbols at Trustys Hill (geograph 4371317).jpg, The stone in 2015, protected by an iron grille.
Further reading
* Ronan Toolis and Christopher Bowles (2017), ''The Lost Dark Age Kingdom of Rheged: the Discovery of a Royal Stronghold at Trusty’s Hill, Galloway''. Oxford:
Oxbow Books __NOTOC__
An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or bullock. A bow pin holds it in place.
The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meander in a river, ...
, .
Publisher's websiteJSTORGoogle Books
. Official published report of the 2012 investigation.
Interim report
October 2012
External links
*
* Ronan Toolis (May 2017)
''Current Archaeology
''Current Archaeology'' is a British monthly archaeology magazine.
Summary
''Current Archaeology'' describes itself as the "United Kingdom's best selling archaeology magazine", a claim substantiated by British Archaeological Jobs and Resources o ...
''
327
* James Hoare (31 January 2017)
The Lost Kingdom of Rheged: What the Trusty’s Hill dig can tell us about Celtic Britain
'' History Answers''
Discovery of Lost Dark Age Kingdom In Galloway
Guard Archaeology, 15 January 2017
The Galloway Picts Project
Excavation website
A Window on Dark Age Galloway
Gatehouse of Fleet community and visitor website, Gatehouse Development Initiative.
{{Medieval Scotland
Archaeological sites in Dumfries and Galloway
Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Dumfries and Galloway
Hill forts in Scotland
Kirkcudbrightshire
6th century in Scotland
7th century in Scotland