Burghead Fort

The fort was built in multiple phases. a possibility reinforced by the Celtic stone head that was discovered in the well in the 19th century. The Burning of the Clavie, which still takes place in Burghead annually, has also been seen as a surviving pagan fire festival. There is archaeological evidence of a chapel within the fort by the 8th century, and decorated stones dating from around AD 800 found in Burghead churchyard were probably the remains of Christian crosses. Fragments of an early Christian shrine have been discovered immediately outside the fort, and the secular power centre of the fort may have had a significant relationship with the major Pictish religious centres of…

The site consisted of a walled inner enclosure measuring 1000 ft in length and 600 ft in width, which was divided into two wards or courts: a smaller, higher enclosure or citadel to the southwest, and a larger, lower one to the northeast. In total the enclosure occupied an area of 12.4 acre. Cutting off the enclosure and the headland was a system of three ramparts and ditches, together measuring 800 ft by 180 ft, with each cut by entrances midway along. These were constructed of earth and rubble. Excavations in the 1890s revealed a paved roadway through the fort. The western wall of the upper enclosure was excavated in 1969 and found to be exceptionally massive, with an 8 m base and a…

on display at the British Museum]] During the destruction of the site in the early 19th century, up to thirty stone panels carrying carved images of bulls were discovered. Although most of these were built into the quay wall of Burghead Harbour and thus lost, six remain: two in the visitor centre in Burghead itself, two in Elgin Museum, one in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and one in the British Museum in London. The Bulls have been dated to the 5th century or later and may have formed a frieze set into the ramparts of the fort, possibly forming part of a warrior cult celebrating strength and aggression. The degree of naturalism of the Burghead Bulls is unequalled in early…