Burghead Fort
Burghead Fort was a Pictish promontory fort on the site now occupied by the small town of Burghead in Moray, Scotland. It was one of the earliest power centres of the Picts and was three times the size of any other enclosed site in Early Medieval Scotland. The fort was probably the main centre of the Pictish Kingdom of Fortriu, flourishing with the kingdom itself from the 4th to the 9th centuries.
Plan of the remains of the fort drawn by General William Roy in 1793 | |
Burghead Fort Shown within Scotland | |
| Coordinates | 57.7036°N 3.4971°W |
|---|---|
| Type | Promontory fort |
| Length | 1,000 feet (300 m) |
| Width | 600 feet (180 m) |
| Area | 12.4 acres (5.0 ha) |
| History | |
| Periods | Iron Age, Pictish |
Burghead is not recorded in any surviving annals and its name in the Pictish language is not recorded, but it may be the Pinnata Castra that features in Ptolemy's 2nd-century Geography. The original defences may date from the Iron Age but were substantially rebuilt during the early historic period.
The remains of the fort were largely destroyed when the harbour and town of Burghead were remodelled in the early 19th century, but its layout is recorded in a plan drawn by William Roy in 1793. Sections of its inner ramparts still stand up to 9.8 feet (3.0 m) high, and a small section of the innermost outer rampart survives as the "Doorie Hill". The fort's underground ritual well can be visited and the site has a visitor centre where important Pictish sculptures from the fort are displayed.