Cawdor ( gd, Caladair) is a village and parish in the
Highland council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
The village is south-southwest of
Nairn and east of
Inverness. The village is in the
Historic County of
Nairnshire
The County of Nairn (also called Nairnshire) ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Narann) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was used for local administration until the county council, based at the county t ...
.
History
The village is the location of
Cawdor Castle, the seat of the
Earl Cawdor. A massive keep with small turrets is the original portion of the castle, and to it were added, in the 17th century, later buildings forming two sides of a square.
Macbeth, in Shakespeare's play of the same name, becomes
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...
of Cawdor early in the narrative.
However, since the oldest part of the castle's structure dates from the late 14th century, and has no predecessor, Shakespeare's version's historical authenticity is dubious.
The name "Cawdor" is the English pronunciation and spelling of the ancient and original name Calder. In the early 19th century, the Lord at the time was residing in England and changed the name of the castle, town and clan overnight so that it would match the Shakespearian designation.
Roman fort
In 1984, a strong candidate for a
Roman fort was identified at Easter Galcantray, south west of Cawdor, by
aerial photography
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...
.
The site was excavated between 1985 and 1988 and several features were identified which are of this classification.
The radiocarbon test gave a possible date of construction during the
Agricola
Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to:
People Cognomen or given name
:''In chronological order''
* Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85)
* Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...
campaign.
Excavations at Cawdor 1986
/ref>
See also
* Royal Brackla distillery
Notes
References
*
{{commons category, Cawdor
External links
Cawdor Castle website
Populated places in the County of Nairn
Parishes in the County of Nairn