TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 179 



Notes on the Vitrified Forts on Noth and Dunnideer. 

 By Sir A.L. Hay. 

 I have considered it worthy of the attention, and I hope of the inspection of some 

 members of the Association, that the most remarkable of the vitrified forts peculiar to 

 Scotland, and situated in this district, should be briefly described. The hill or moun- 

 tains of Noth is situated in the district of Strathbogie in Aberdeenshire, upon the estate 

 of his Grace the Duke of Richmond, rising to an elevation of about 1900 feet above 

 the level of the sea. Noth is an elongated mass of mountain stretching from north- 

 east to south-west. At its western extremity it is conical, and on its summit is con- 

 structed the fort, the ground having been apparently levelled for the purpose of its 

 erection. The locality of the fort is at least three hundred feet above any part of the 

 surrounding ground. The vitrified wall encloses a parallelogram rounded at its angles, 

 of about one hundred yards in length by thirty-two in width ; it is entered at the south- 

 east angle by a causeway extending down the cone, and from which diverge several 

 roads conducting to its base ; this has evidently been the only entrance to this moun- 

 tain strength. It is remarkable that the main road, and which appears to have been 

 the principal line of access, is that leading to the wild district of Cabrach, the least 

 populously inhabited country of the whole surrounding neighbourhood. The vitrified 

 wall can be traced throughout its whole enceinte, with the exception of the above- 

 mentioned entrance, and is more perfect than in any similar work in the kingdom : 

 the portions of the wall which have been most perfectly vitrified are, of course, the 

 most entire. I do not presume to solve the difficulty which naturally results from the 

 various opinions as to the origin or construction of this extraordinary wall; but that it 

 has been the work of human hands appears beyond doubt. The hypothesis of Pen- 

 nant that it was the crater-rim of an exhausted volcano seems untenable. Williams, 

 the author of the " Mineral Kingdom,'' considered it so. M'Culloch was of the same 

 opinion. The late Sir George M'Kenzie held that the vitrifaction was produced by the 

 effect of the ancient beacon-fires lighted on the approach of an enemy. Hugh Miller 

 considered this very unsatisfactory, and added " that the unbroken continuity of the 

 vitrified line militates against the signal-system theory." The causewayed entrance, 

 the second and third lines of wall, the roads conducting from different parts of the 

 country, all lead to a conclusion that this has been the stronghold of a district during 

 barbarous ages. Allowing for the height lost by the accumulation of soil and rubbish 

 at its base, it must have been at least eight feet high, to which is to be added the 

 courses of dry masonry which had raised it to its original altitude, and the stones of 

 which are now piled in innumerable quantities outside the vitrified remains. From 

 the accumulation of soil it is now difficult to ascertain what has been the width of this 

 extraordinary wall, but from all appearance it must have been from eighteen to twenty 

 feet. In the centre of the fort is a well or tank. The appearance of the burnt or 

 vitrified substances proves that an intense and long-continued heat must have been 

 applied, and in many parts of the rampart the stone presents a glazed appearance. 

 Lower down the conical part of the hill, and enclosing an area of twenty or thirty 

 acres, is a line of wall to be traced by its remains, in parts of which the large blocks 

 of stone continue in the positions they have originally occupied in the structure. 

 This wall, with its distinctly-marked entrances and circular towers, surrounds what 

 has been considered the vulnerable part of the hill, and is only discontinued at the 

 southern face of the mountain, where the steep and inaccessible nature of the ground 

 appears to have been considered a sufficient defence from attacks in that immediate 

 direction. Another line of wall is perceptible at the base of the cone on which the 

 fort stands ; it embraces a very extensive area, but does not appear to have been a 

 work of such strength or importance as that above described. The date of construc- 

 tion of these remarkable works, or the races by whom they were inhabited, is buried 

 in mystery; neither the traditions of the country nor the page of history afford any 

 information on the subject. That the population of a whole district, with their flocks 

 and herds, had taken shelter therein in cases of hostile attack, appears probable, 

 and there remain indications of habitations having been constructed inside of, and 

 against the second line of wall above described. For the purposes of a mountain 

 fortress the locality has been admirably selected, the only commanding height in its 

 neighbourhood being at a distance of five or six miles — consequently too distant for 

 offensive purposes previous to the discovery of gunpowder and the long range ! It has 



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