King's Seat, Dunkeld.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Strachan, David.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (247 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bicester : Archaeopress, 2025.

Summary:

King's Seat fort near Dunkeld, once lost to archaeology, was rediscovered in 2015 and revealed as a high-status Pictish royal site. Excavations uncovered metalworking, trade, and feasting evidence. Its later abandonment reflects shifts in power and religious influence, linking prehistory to medieval Scotland.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright information

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Chapter 1 Introduction

Figure 1.1: The author and Dave MacDougall inspect the dense Rhododendron cover in 2015.

Figure 1.3: Volunteer Mary McDougall excavating the main hearth in 2019.

Figure 1.5: The Picts in the Park living history fair in 2018 (© PKHT/Bart Masiukiewicz).

Figure 1.6: The display of 3D-printed, hand-painted replicas of key finds at Dunkeld Community Archive.

Figure 1.7: The location of King's Seat and the environs of Dunkeld showing keys sites mentioned in the text.

Figure 1.8: A view from the south with the King's Seat fort in the centre foreground on the hill occupying the bend in the River Tay (© Crown Copyright: HES).

Figure 1.9: Patrick McNaughtan's Plan of Dunkeld of 1759 (Courtesy of Dunkeld Community Archive: original held by Blair Castle).

Figure 1.10: James Stobie's map of 1783 (Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland).

Figure 1.11: Extract of the inset from John Wood's Plan of Dunkeld, 1823 (Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland).

Figure 1.12: Dunkeld Cathedral Pictish symbol stone (D1) with the incised horseman carrying a spear and drinking from a horn. The top face has a sunken equal-armed cross with expanded terminals (© Crown Copyright: HES).

Figure 1.13: 1st edition OS 25-inch map published in 1867 (Reproduced by permission of the National Library of Scotland).

Figure 1.14: The RCAHMS 1957 survey as published by Feachem in 1966. Note the direction of North in the top left corner (© Crown Copyright: HES).

Figure 1.15: The unpublished sections from the 1957 RCAHMS survey (© Crown Copyright: HES).

Figure 1.16: The RCAHMS survey as published in South-East Perth: an archaeological landscape in 1994 (© Crown Copyright: HES).

Table 1.1: Locational and administrative details of the site.

Figure 1.17: The newly identified enclosure (arrows) visible in the ALS-derived DTM south of the known ramparts. Visualization for Archaeological Topography (VAT) blended with multidirectional hill-shade (ALS data: Crown copyright Scottish Government, SEP

Figure 1.18: The revised plan of King's Seat, Dunkeld. Steepness of slope is based on the ALS data and helps to simplify the complex topography of the hill (ALS data: Crown copyright Scottish Government, SEPA and Scottish Water (2012)).

Chapter 2The excavation results

Figure 2.1: The central, western and eastern enclosures of the fort and the trenches 2017-19.

Figure 2.2: The enclosures of the fort with the southern enclosure and additional trenches in 2021.

Figure 2.3: General view of the central enclosure looking south, location of Structure 2 on the lower terrace.

Figure 2.5: General view of the western enclosure looking south-east, with the line of the surviving rampart visible at the edge of the sloping terrace.

Figure 2.6: The surviving bank at the south end of the eastern enclosure, looking north-west.

Figure 2.8: North-west facing section of Trench 3 showing collapsed rampart [304] and abutting deposits [310], [308] and [305].

Figure 2.10: Detail of the surviving inner face [317] of central enclosure rampart [304] in Trench 3.

Figure 2.9: Mid-excavation view of the inner face [317] of central enclosure rampart [304], looking north-east in Trench 3.

Figure 2.11: A general post-excavation view of the north-west facing section of central enclosure rampart [304], Trench 3.

Figure 2.12: Detail of the north-west facing section of central enclosure rampart [304], showing collapse off hill, Trench 3.

Figure 2.13: The south-east facing section of central enclosure rampart [304], showing collapse, Trench 3. The north entrance is visible as a break in the rampart beyond the trench.

Figure 2.14: The collapsed inner face [402] of central enclosure rampart emerging in Trench 4, looking east.

Figure 2.15: Rampart core behind inner face of central enclosure rampart [402] in Trench 4, looking north-west.

Figure 2.17: The south-east facing section of the central enclosure rampart [504] in Trench 5.

Figure 2.18: Mid-excavation view of central enclosure rampart [504] in Trench 5 looking south-west.

Figure 2.20: Post-excavation view of the central enclosure rampart [504] in Trench 5, facing south-west.

Figure 2.21: Plan of Trench 2 depicting the sloping bedrock, features identified in the text and glacial erratic, including the position of bored holes.

Figure 2.22: Mid-excavation view of Trench 2 looking to the south-east showing rhododendron root disturbance.

Figure 2.23: Bedrock exposed in Trench 2 depicting some of the fissures resulting from possible quarrying.

Figure 2.25: Stone setting [209] in Trench 2.

Figure 2.26: The area of Trench 2 where the slingshot pebbles (SF 222) were uncovered.

Figure 2.27: The recovered slingshot pebbles (SF 222) from Trench 2 contrasting with the naturally occurring angular stone in the background.

Figure 2.28: The glacial erratic [208] from the east showing the fissure along the southern half of the stone.

Figure 2.29: The glacial erratic [208] from the west showing the wavy bedding and fissure.

Figure 2.30: The glacial erratic [208] from the south-east showing a slope at the south-west corner, towards the lower terrace near the entrance to the central enclosure.

Figure 2.31: Detail of the small holes bored into the glacial erratic [208] shown in Figure 2.21.

Figure 2.32: Plan of Trench 4 with primary hearth setting [410] within Structure 1 and small platform [405] up against the bedrock edge.

Figure 2.33: South-facing and north facing sections of Trench 4 and Structure 1 deposits and detailed south-east facing section of hearth [410] and post-settings.

Figure 2.34: Mid-excavation general view of stony silty deposit [444] located running across Trench 4 in front of scalebar, representing a degraded turf wall of Structure 1, facing west.

Figure 2.35: Post-excavation general view of natural subsoil underlying stony silty deposit [444] at edge of Structure 1, facing west.

Figure 2.36: Mid-excavation general view of Structure 1 with primary hearth [410] and the upright stones of stone settings [417] and [418] emerging in Trench 4, facing south-west.

Figure 2.37: Post-excavation view of Structure 1 in Trench 4 with stone settings [417/418/431/432] along the west edge, sub-rectangular hearth [410] (centre image) and rampart [402] along edge of slope, facing east.

Figure 2.38: Primary hearth [410] and post settings [435/437/439/441] in Structure 1, Trench 4, facing north-east.

Figure 2.39: South-east facing section of primary hearth [410] and post settings [435/437] in Structure 1, Trench 4.

Figure 2.40: Primary hearth [410] showing sondage along south-east half of feature excavated to base, facing north.

Figure 2.41: Plan of Trench 4 with secondary hearth setting [420] overlying earlier hearth [410] in Structure 1.

Figure 2.42: Remnants of upper hearth [420] in Structure 1, Trench 4, facing south-west.

Figure 2.43: Remnants of upper hearth [420] in Structure 1, Trench 4, facing north-west.

Figure 2.44: Pivot stone (SF 4039), from Trench 2, likely located close to north end of Structure 1 entrance.

Figure 2.45: Mid-excavation view of small platform [405] with boulders [408] underpinning it, set against bedrock face, facing west.

Figure 2.46: Small platform [405] built against bedrock face, looking north-west.

Figure 2.47: Base of cultivation furrows beyond the hearth, truncating the eastern half of Structure 1, Trench 4, facing north-east.

Figure 2.48: Base of cultivation furrows truncating the eastern half of Structure 1, Trench 4 facing north-west.

Figure 2.49: Plan of the upper [003], middle [004] and lower [005] western ramparts in Trench 1.

Figure 2.50: North facing section through upper [003], middle [004] and lower [005] western ramparts in Trench 1.

Figure 2.51: General view of upper rampart [003] looking down to middle rampart [004] terrace, facing west.

Figure 2.52: Front face [007] of upper western rampart [003], Trench 1, facing east.

Figure 2.53: Pre-excavation view of posthole [017], facing south.

Figure 2.54: Posthole [017] at the back of western rampart [003], Trench 1, facing east.

Figure 2.55: Pre-excavation of middle western rampart [004], Trench 1, facing north.

Figure 2.56: Excavated middle western rampart [004], collapsed front face [033], Trench 1, facing west.

Figure 2.57: Front kerb [027] of lower western rampart [005], Trench 1, facing north.

Figure 2.58: Front kerb [027] of lower western rampart [005], Trench 1, facing east.

Figure 2.59: Volunteers cleaning and sieving in Trench 6 on the middle terrace, west enclosure.

Figure 2.60: Plan of Structures 2 and 3 in Trench 6

and secondary hearth [606].

Figure 2.61: South-facing section of primary hearth [617] and secondary hearth [606] in Structure 2.

Figure 2.62: Hearth setting [606] and possible wall base [610] of Structure 2 emerging in Trench 6, western enclosure, facing south-east.

Figure 2.63: Lower hearth setting [617] in Structure 2, facing north.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-80583-118-6

9781805831181