Trusty's Hill is a small
vitrified
Vitrification (, via French ') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non- crystalline or amorphous solid. Glasses differ from liquids structurally and glasses possess a higher degree of connectivity ...
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
about a mile to the west of the present-day town of
Gatehouse of Fleet
Gatehouse of Fleet ( ) 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 council administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
...
, in the parish of
Anwoth in the Stewartry district of
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
.
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 River Clyde, Clyde-River Forth, Forth line and on the Eastern side of the ...
located near the entrance to the fort, one of only a handful of such stones found outside the core
Pictish
Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic 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 number of geog ...
heartland of North-East Scotland. A 2012 archaeological investigation 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 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 ('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 bardic sources, ...
, which gained greatest prominence under its legendary leader
Urien
Urien ap Cynfarch Oer () or Urien Rheged (, Old Welsh: or , ) was a powerful sixth-century Brittonic-speaking figure who was possibly the ruler of the territory or kingdom known as Rheged. He is one of the best-known and best documented o ...
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
*
Publisher's websiteJSTORGoogle Books
. Official published report of the 2012 investigation.
*
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 monuments in Dumfries and Galloway
Hill forts in Scotland
Kirkcudbrightshire
6th century in Scotland
7th century in Scotland