Dunsinane Hill

Dunsinane Hill ( dun-SIN-ən) is a hill of the Sidlaws near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It is mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, in which a vision informs Macbeth that he "shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him." It is also where the Battle of Dunsinane, a real battle also featured in Macbeth, occurred. The hill has a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft) and commands expansive views of the surrounding countryside. It consists of a late Iron Age hill fort, the ramparts of which remain obvious. The site was damaged by undocumented amateur excavations in the 19th century by antiquarians attracted to the site by its Shakespearean connection. Little of value was learned about the history of the monument from these unscientific endeavours. Dunsinane is the traditional site of a 1054 battle in which Siward, Earl of Northumbria, defeated Macbeth of Scotland. The much earlier Iron Age hill fort has long been known as Macbeth's Castle, though there is no archaeological evidence that it was in use by him or anyone during the mid eleventh century.