LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
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LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Moray per Aberdeenshire Council NJ16NW0001 (None)
NMR: NJ 16 NW 1 (16146)
SM: 2205 & 90044
NGR: NJ 1090 6914
X: 310900 Y: 869140 (OSGB36)
This fort is situated on Burg Head, the large promontory jutting out into the Moray Firth from the southern shore, which has given its name to the planned village that now extends up its spine. Whereas the earlier village is shown on a plan drawn up by General William Roy in the 18th century outside the defences, the construction of the new village and its harbour at the beginning of the 19th century led to the extensive demolition of the ramparts. As a result, Roy's plan published in 1793 remains the best guide to the disposition of the defences, which comprise three main elements: an enclosure on the summit of the promontory; an annexe apparently springing from the summit enclosure to take in the lower terrace immediately above the shore on the NNE; and a belt of three ramparts probably with external ditches cutting across the neck of the promontory on the ESE. The summit enclosure measured at least 155m from ESE to WNW by 60m transversely (0.8ha) within a massive timber-laced wall, though its heavily disturbed remains only survive in the sector overlooking the annexe on the NNE, the ESE end having been levelled for the construction of the upper W corner of the village, and the whole of the southern flank demolished to make way for the new harbour in 1808-9; the entrance was in the middle of the ESE end. The N corner of the village likewise overlies the ESE end of the annexe, which extended beyond the ESE end of the summit enclosure and measured at least 190m in internal length, tapering westward from a maximum breadth of 70m (1.1ha). Its N wall survives as a massive mound of quarried rubble, but the W end has been entirely removed. The entrance was in the ESE end, which appears to have taken in the entrance to the well-known well or cistern. In plan, the sinuous course of the outer belt of defences appears to mimic the ESE end of the summit enclosure and the annexe, cutting off an area on the promontory measuring perhaps as much as 255m in length by 190m in breadth (3.2ha). All three were pierced by an entrance that mounted the slope to the NNE of the burial ground, in which faint traces of these ramparts can still be detected; notably the outermost rampart and ditch are the largest on Roy's drawn profile taken towards the S end above the harbour, possibly indicating that these defences represent several periods of construction. The way the outer defences seem to follow the line of the summit and annexe defences might indicate that they were an addition, but they may equally be earlier, responding to the underlying topography, now masked by the village, and indeed the position of the well. The differences in size of the outer ramparts noted by Roy may in any case indicate that the outermost was once a free-standing defence in its own right enclosing an area of about 4.3ha. Since the construction of the harbour and the new village, which saw the discovery of numerous carved stones, many of them bearing incised Pictish depictions of bulls, six of which survive, but also including fragments of early medieval cross-slabs (see RCAHMS Canmore ID 16190), there have been repeated archaeological interventions, with excavations carried out in 1861 (Macdonald 1862), 1890-2 (Young 1891; 1893), 1966 (Small 1966; 1969), 2002 (Johnson 2002) and 2003 (Ralston 2004) and currently by G Noble. Finds at various times have included a Late Bronze Age spearhead (Proc Soc Antiq Scot 24, 379), a Roman melon bead, several late Roman coins and an Anglo-Saxon mount dating from about the 9th century. The sections through the walls revealed clear evidence of timber-lacing in some places, though not everywhere, and the use of iron spikes in the frame; some of the timberwork appears to have been incorporated horizontally in the wall faces.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -389255 Y: 7905244 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.496733650379947 Latitude: 57.703285698850124 (EPSG:4326)
Country: Scotland
Current County or Unitary Authority: Moray
Historic County: Morayshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Duffus
None
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
None
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✓ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✓ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✓ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✓ |
| Hilltop | ✗ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✓ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: None
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 20.0m
N/A
Four old radiocarbon dates from oak charcoal in the wall span the second half of the 1st millennium AD; one from a pre-wall context is earlier at AD 240-430. The Anglo Saxon mount is probably of 9th century date. and there are two late Roman coins and possibly one of Nero in addition to a melon bead.
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✓ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Artefactual: | Various uncontexted finds |
| C14: | Five dates currently available |
RCAHMS holds drawn and photographic archives, together with aerial photographs, while other aerial photographs are held by Aberdeenshire Council.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1725): | Entry for the Parish of Duffus in Walter Macfarlane's Geographical Collections (1906-8, i, 235) |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1755): | Depicted on Roy's Military Map (1747-55) |
| Earthwork Survey (1776): | Plan and description by Charles Cordiner (1780, 58-9, pl.x) |
| Earthwork Survey (1793): | Plan by William Roy prob 1764-75 following from the map (1793, pl.33) |
| Other (1818): | Major demolition above the harbour (Young 1891, 445) |
| Other (1835): | Noted (NSA, 13, Elginshire, 37) |
| Excavation (1861): | By James Macdonald (Macdonald 1862; Young 1891; RCAHMS SAS 199/1-2, DC36531-2 & DP150013-14) |
| Other (1870): | Named 'Ptoroton' in Roman type and annotated 'Remains of the Roman Station' on the 1st edition OS 25-inch map (Elginshire 1873, sheet 1.15) |
| Excavation (1890): | Sections cut through the walls and elsewhere by Hugh Young (1891; RCAHMS MS 28/489/1-10) |
| Excavation (1892): | Further sections (Young 1893) |
| Other (1962): | Scheduled |
| Other (1963): | Visited by the OS |
| Excavation (1966): | By Alan Small (1966; 1969) |
| Other (1998): | Re-Scheduled |
| Earthwork Survey (2001): | Survey and watching briefs (Alexander, Ralston and Hicks 2001) |
| Excavation (2002): | And watching brief (Johnson 2002) |
| Excavation (2003): | On outer defences (Ralston 2004) |
| Excavation (2005): | Watching brief (Farrell 2005; RCAHMS WP003348) |
Heavily disturbed and featureless
within the annexe and the outer defences, the latter possibly representing several free-standing phases of enclosure. Clearly recognisable as a feature of General Roy's plan. it was emptied out about 1809.
| None | ✗ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
In the 1890s excavations Young encountered foundations in the annexe.
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
A silver Anglo-Saxon mount (see RCAHMS Canmore 16148) and a coin of King Alfred were recovered during the demolition of the ramparts, and probable human burials have been found in both the annexe and the upper enclosure of the fort; one discovered in the fort in 1860 was described as a stone coffin. Discoveries since include a Roman coin of Galienus (AD 260-8) 50m NE of the well, a coin of Magnentius (AD 351-3) (Robertson 1983, 414). A Roman melon bead has also been found here (Robertson 1970, table 9). Young in the excavations in the 1890s encountered midden deposits containing cattle bones in the annexe.
| No Known Finds | ✗ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✓ |
| Metalworking | ✗ |
| Human Bones | ✓ |
| Animal Bones | ✓ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked | ✗ |
| None | ✓ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
See main summary
| 3: | Also heavily demolished sectors in the circuit |
| 2: | Separate entrances into the summit fort, its annexe, and the promontory enclosure |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | Summit enclosure |
| 2. Oblique (South east): | Obliquely through the outer defences, but not aligned on the entrance into the summit enclosure |
A summit enclosure with a lower annexe on a promontory that is otherwise cut off by a belt of three ramparts and ditches.
| Area 1: | 0.8ha. |
| Area 2: | 1.9ha. |
| Area 3: | 3.2ha. |
| Area 4: | 4.3ha. |
| Total: | 4.3ha. |
Total Footprint Area: 4.5ha.
None
| ✓ | While the defences are not visibly multi-period, there can be little doubt that they represent several phases of construction |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 4 |
| SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| NW Quadrant: | 1 |
| Total: | 4 |
| Partial Univallate | ✓ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✓ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✓ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✓ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✓ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✓ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✓ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✓ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
Number of Ditches: 3
| ✓ | The enclosure taking in the lower terrace on the N is assumed to be a subsidiary annexe to the enclosure on the summit, though it apparently had an independent entrance on the ESE. Measuring about 1.1ha in extent internally, its massive wall has been demolished on the W and ESE, but survives as a quarried mound of rubble immediately above the shore on the N. The annexe seems to have taken in the entrance to the rock-cut cistern sunk into the foot of the escarpment that to the W separates the summit enclosure from the annexe. |
Alexander, D, Ralston, I and Hicks, K (2001) Burghhead Headland, Archaeological Interpretation and Site Works. CFA Report 636. Commissioned by Moray Council on behalf of the Burghead Headland Trust (RCAHMS MS/1081/8)
Cordiner, C (1780) Antiquities & Scenery of the North of Scotland, in a Series of Letters to Thomas Pennant, Esqr. London
Edwards, K. J. and Ralston, I. (1980) 'New dating and environmental evidence from Burghead fort, Moray', Proc soc Antiq Scot, 109, 1977-8 (1980), 202-10.
Farrell, S (2005) 'Burghead Water Mains, Moray (Duffus parish), watching brief'. Disc Exc Scot 6 (2005), 94
Johnson, M (2002) 'Burghead Fort Coastal Lookout, Moray (Duffus parish), Pictish fort'. Disc Exc Scot 3 (2002), 82
Macdonald, J (1863) 'Historical notices of the "Broch" or Burghead, in Moray, with an account of its antiquities'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 4 (1860-2). 321-69
Macfarlane, W (1906-8) Geographical collections relating to Scotland. (Mitchell, A and Clark, J T eds) 3v. Edinburgh
Ralston, I (2004) 'Burghead Landward Ramparts (Duffus parish), promontory fort'. Disc Exc Scot 5 (2004), 86
Robertson, A S (1970) 'Roman finds from non-Roman sites in Scotland'. Britannia 1 (1970), 198-226
Robertson, A S (1984) 'Roman coins found in Scotland, 1971-1982'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 113 (1983), 405-48
Roy, W (1793) The Military Antiquities of the Romans in Britain. London
Small, A (1966) 'Burghead'. Disc Exc Scot (1966), 34
Small, A (1969) 'Burghead', Scot Archaeol Forum 1 (1969), 61-8
Young, H W (1891) 'Notes on the ramparts of Burghead, as revealed by recent excavations'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 25 (1890-1), 435-47
Young, H W (1893) 'Notes on further excavations at Burghead'. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 27 (1892-3), 86-91
Atlas of Hillforts:
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and should be cited as:
Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk
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