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The Romans came; they saw . . . but they never managed
to completely subjugate North Britain. The borders
of modern Scotland at that time had not yet been defined .
. . nor would they be for many centuries to come.
North Britain in c.400 AD
Their first incursion began in the 1st century AD when
Agricola defeated the local Caledonians in a mighty
battle at Mons Graupius (“They make a desert, and they
call it peace”). The exact site has never been found,
but is believed to be located somewhere in the North-east
of Scotland.
After more than three centuries of constant expeditions,
harrying and containment of the northern tribes, the Romans
finally settled on Hadrian’s Wall as the northern
frontier of their great empire, having decided that the
“roadless wilderness of mountains, marsh and forest,
wolf and wildcat” not worth the trouble . . .!
Many hundreds of years later, long after the collapse of
Rome, the fusion of peoples (invaders and indigenous alike)
would unite under Kenneth MacAlpin (c. 850 AD) to
found the first Kingdom of Scotland. These peoples,
mainly the Scots from Dalriada (Irish in origin)
and the Picts (to the Romans, picti, the painted
ones), also included the Britons (from Strathclyde),
peoples of earlier Norse invasions from the extreme
north and west, and Angles from south of the River
Forth.
The ancient capital of the Scots
of Dalriada |
The remote rocky hillfort at Dunadd, a few miles
from Kilmartin, Argyll, was the capital of Dalriada
which was established by peoples from Ireland around 500
AD.
It is also from here, tradition has it, that the Stone
of Scone was taken, when the ancient capital of the
Scots was moved eastwards to Scone.
The stone near the summit of
Dunadd
showing the footprint |
There are several rock carvings on the site (the
outline of a footprint can seen in the photograph to the
right).
There is also an example of ogham script, and a basin hewn
into the rock near the summit, suggesting that it may have
been the site where the Kings of Dalriada were crowned
in the past.
The top of the hill is accessed by a rocky path and is
not recommended unless you are reasonably fit.
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