Green Castle, Portknockie
 .svg.png){kind=icon} Green Castle Shown within Moray | |
| Coordinates | 57°42′22″N 2°51′32″W / 57.70607°N 2.85894°WCoordinates: 57°42′22″N 2°51′32″W / 57.70607°N 2.85894°W |
|---|---|
| Type | Promontory fort |
| Length | 70 metres (230 ft) |
| Width | 15 metres (49 ft) |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age, Pictish |
Green Castle is a naturally defended rocky outcrop in the village of Portknockie in Moray, Scotland, that was occupied successively by small promontory forts of the Iron Age and Pictish periods.[1]
The site forms a rocky headland 70 metres (230 ft) long and 15 metres (49 ft) wide, surrounded by steep cliffs rising 20 metres (66 ft) high above the sea.[2] The site was extensively excavated between 1976 and 1982.[1]
During the Iron Age a single palisade was built to protect the headland at its landward side.[2] Traces of the slot created by these timbers, together with an Iron Age sherd and pits have been excavated.[1] This occupation period produced evidence of metalworking, including fragments of moulds, furnaces, hammerstones and whetstones.[1] Ard marks over the upper surfaces of Iron Age archaeological layers suggest that the site was then used for agriculture before being reused for defensive purposes during the Pictish period.[1]
A new timber palisade backfilled by beach cobbles marked a first phase of Pictish activity on the site.[1] The fort was then extensively rebuilt in the 7th and 8th centuries – possibly in response to the start of Norse raids on the northern Pictish Kingdom of Fortriu – with a more sophisticated structure of timber-laced stone ramparts protecting a central stone hall.[2] These defences were later destroyed by fire, possibly the result of a Viking siege.[2]
During the 19th century the site was used for fish drying and most of the area was covered by low stone platforms.[1]
References
Bibliography
- Konstam, Angus (2010). Strongholds of the Picts: The Fortifications of Dark Age Scotland. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781846036866. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- "Green Castle, Portknockie". Moray Sites and Monuments Record. Moray Council. Retrieved 10 October 2015.