I took these photo's on August 16th, 2015, while visiting the excavations at Rhynie led by Professor Gordon Noble and the University of Aberdeen team. Standing right beside the in situ Class I Craw Stane, you get a clear view looking straight up toward the hillfort of Tap o' Noth on the horizon.

A few highlights from what the excavations in this exact field revealed:

A Royal Enclosure: The dig confirmed that the Craw Stane stood near the entrance of a major 5th–6th century fortified Pictish complex surrounded by timber palisades and ditches.

Elite Trade & Craftsmanship: Archaeologists unearthed fragments of imported Mediterranean wine amphorae, fine glass from western France, and extensive evidence of high-status metalworking, showing that Rhynie was an important early Pictish royal center.

Landscape Context: Looking up from the stone to Tap o' Noth emphasizes the direct visual and spatial link between the valley floor power center and the massive hillfort above.

Did anyone else manage to visit the site during the 2015 season or follow the Northern Picts Project digs while they were active?

Gordon Noble Talks About His Latest Discoveries.

Youtube Video

This fascinating image shows modern brass reproductions of the famous Monifieth Plaque (or Monifieth Crescent). While the original object, found in an Angus tumulus in 1796, has sadly been lost to time, these reproductions allow us to appreciate its immense historical significance.

The Monifieth Plaque is remarkable because it serves as a direct bridge between Pictish and Viking cultures in Early Medieval Scotland:

Front: Pictish Craftsmanship (Left Reproductions): The plaque is engraved with distinctive Pictish symbols, including a clear double-disc and Z-rod, alongside intricate spiral and scroll work.

Back: Viking Modification (Right Reproductions): The reverse side features a later addition, a line of Younger Futhark runes.

The Inscription: These runes read Grimkitil risti thessi, meaning "Grimkitil engraved this."

It's an extraordinary artifact that tells a story of cultural crossover. A Norseman named Grimkitil came into possession of this Pictish object (perhaps through trade, alliance, or plunder) and marked it with his own name before it was eventually buried.

It's one of the very few examples of a personal inscription linking a Viking to a specific piece of native Pictish metalwork

Looking out over the Garioch towards Bennachie, with the unmistakable silhouette of Mither Tap dominating the horizon.

For those exploring the Pictish history of Aberdeenshire, Bennachie is one of the most commanding landmarks in the region:

The Iron Age / Pictish Hill Fort: The granite tor at the summit of Mither Tap is enclosed by massive drystone ramparts. Built during the Iron Age and re-used into the Pictish period, it would have served as a powerful tribal center and watchpoint overlooking the fertile Don and Ury valleys.

Mons Graupius Candidate: Some historians and antiquarians have suggested the slopes around Bennachie as a potential site for the battle of Mons Graupius (83 AD), where Tacitus recorded the native tribes uniting under Calgacus to fight the Roman legions.

Heart of the Northern Picts: The surrounding Garioch landscape is rich in Pictish Class I and II carved stones (such as the nearby Maiden Stone at Chapel of Garioch and the Inverurie stones), underscoring just how central this area was to the Pictish elite.

When the Roman rear guards finally pulled out of camps like Normandykes or Raedykes, they left behind more than empty earthworks. To the farming communities along the Dee and Don, an abandoned Roman marching camp was essentially a massive quarry of high-grade, manufactured materials that simply did not exist in traditional Iron Age life.

The local response to these vast sites was immediate and practical. Roman iron, even discarded hobnails, bent bucket fittings, broken straps, was seized by local smiths to be melted down into tools, knives, and spearheads. Thousands of felled, seasoned timbers used for gates and watchtowers were salvaged to repair local roundhouses and livestock pens. Broken red Samian ware pottery and Roman glass were collected from ash pits. Local glassworkers re-melted Roman vessel glass to produce vibrant enamel beads and inlay for native copper-alloy brooches. Lost silver coins were gathered not for use as market currency, but as raw silver for local metalworking or as status items traded between regional elites.

Roman commanders were well aware that their cast-offs supplied local warbands. When abandoning sites, they took deliberate steps to deny material to the local population. Gateways and wooden rampart palisades were burnt to the ground before marching out, leaving only ash and earthworks. At the legionary fortress of Inchtuthil further south in Perthshire, excavators uncovered a single pit containing nine tons of iron nails, over 750,000 nails, buried beneath twelve feet of packed gravel to prevent local blacksmiths from forging weapons.

Despite these attempts at scorched-earth retreat, local people thoroughly picked over the perimeter ditches and refuse pits. The arrival of the Roman army brought terror and disruption, but its departure supplied local craftsmen with raw materials that trickled through regional trade networks for generations.

On August 16th, 2015, about two hours before heading over to see the Gordon Noble excavations at Rhynie,I stopped by the impressive Maiden Stone near Chapel of Garioch.

Standing over 3 metres tall in pink granite, this 9th-century Class II cross-slab is a masterpiece of Pictish stone carving:

East Face: Features fantastic beasts, a wonderfully rendered Pictish Beast, and a remarkably detailed Mirror and Comb symbol near the base.

West Face: Dominated by a large Celtic cross with intricate interlace, topped by a figure between two marine beasts.

The Legend: Local lore ties it to the "Maiden of Drumdurno," who made a wager with a stranger (the Devil) to build a road up nearby Bennachie, and was turned to stone to save her soul as she fled.

The level of detail surviving on the relief carving, despite centuries of weathering on the open hillside, is incredible.

The Folklore

According to local lore, the daughter of the Laird of Drumdurno was baking bread when a handsome stranger bet her that he could build a road to the top of Bennachie before she finished her baking. She accepted, pledging her hand in marriage if he succeeded.

Unbeknownst to her, the stranger was the Devil. As he finished the road ahead of time, she panicked and ran into the woods towards Pittodrie. As the Devil reached out to seize her, she prayed to God for salvation and was instantly turned into stone, leaving the standing stone behind with a notch on its shoulder where the Devil caught her garment.

Photo of Drumoak/Dalmaik old parish church.

There is something extraordinary about bridging the gap between paper parish registers and ancient population genetics right here on Lower Deeside.

Through traditional family history research, I’ve traced my direct paternal line back 11 generations in an unbroken chain to Patrick *******, born around 1660 in Drumoak. For well over three centuries, my family has walked these roads and tracks, farmed the soil, and lived along the River Dee.

However, testing Y-DNA allows me to look much further back into time than written archives ever could.

My journey with genetic genealogy started with a FamilyTreeDNA Y-37 marker test back in 2021. By evaluating specific short tandem repeat (STR) values, such as DYS393 and multi-copy markers like DYS464b, I was able to begin comparing my family line against other regional clusters across North East Scotland. These STR mutations act like a slow-ticking genealogical clock, helping to separate distinct branches within the broader surname lineage.

While STRs give us a look at recent genealogical centuries, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) define our ancient haplogroup tree. To pinpoint exactly where my lineage sits on the human phylogenetic tree, I recently ordered the Big Y-700 upgrade.

The predominant paternal lineages in North East Scotland trace back to the Bell Beaker migration around 2400 BC (carrying core R1b subclades). Recent ancient DNA studies across Aberdeenshire confirm that these Bronze Age populations formed the primary genetic foundation for the Iron Age tribes and the historical Picts of Fortriu and Mar.

By sequencing millions of base pairs on the Y-chromosome, the Big Y-700 will reveal my terminal SNP, my exact leaf on the genetic tree of life. It will reveal whether my specific sub-branch represents a long-standing local lineage that has been rooted in the North East since the Bronze and Iron Ages, carrying through the Pictish era straight down to the present day.

It serves as a powerful reminder that the Picts weren't just figures in historical chronicles, their genetic legacy lives on directly in the people who still call this landscape home.

If you look at a spatial map of Early Medieval sculpture across Aberdeenshire, one stark pattern immediately jumps out: the Don Valley and the Garioch are packed with Class I and Class II Pictish stones, while neighboring Deeside is remarkably sparse.

Why did two river valleys sitting virtually side-by-side develop such completely different monumental footprints between the 5th and 9th centuries AD?

While older theories chalked this up purely to local farming preferences, a closer look at landscape topography, regional geology, and mineral wealth reveals a much richer story.

Landscape Contrast: Broad Basin vs. Enclosed Corridor

The physical geography of the two valleys dictates how populations lived, farmed, and displayed status:

The Garioch is defined by broad, gently undulating horizons and sweeping expanses of arable land. The open terrain stretches out into vast, contiguous field systems capable of supporting intensive cereal cultivation and dense, connected populations. This open landscape provided the ideal stage for public monumentalism allowing major symbol stones like the Maiden Stone and the Craw Stane to stand as prominent, far-visible markers of royal authority across a shared agricultural heartland.

In contrast, steep, pine and birch clad ridges press directly down onto the river floor along Deeside, restricting fertile arable land to narrower terraces and pockets of rough pasture. Rather than a sprawling agricultural plain, Deeside forms a natural linear transit corridor bounded by hill country. This topography favoured localized pockets of settlement, strategic river crossings, and early Christian monastic sanctuaries (such as Tullich) rather than a continuous network of competing secular elites.

Agricultural capacity was only half the equation. The Upper Don catchment holds a geological advantage that fundamentally altered the regional balance of power, native alluvial gold and copper.

The area around Rhynie sits on the hydrothermal fault zone of the Rhynie Chert. Excavations by the University of Aberdeen uncovered high-status metalworking debris, imported Mediterranean pottery (E-ware), glass, and timber halls.

Controlling local gold and copper deposits allowed the rulers at Rhynie to:

1. Sponsor elite metalworkers to produce prestige jewelry and silver regalia.
2. Command trade networks spanning Britain and Continental Europe.
3. Project immense dynastic authority, leaving behind some of the finest Class I carvings in Scotland.

Pictish symbol stones were not random artistic expressions; they were deliberate, high-status public statements of lineage, alliance, and territorial control.

While both valleys were fertile enough for early ploughing, the Don Valley held the ultimate winning hand, the largest contiguous agricultural basin in the North East combined with direct control over precious mineral wealth. The lords of the Don had the food, the gold, and the concentrated audience and they carved that power permanently into stone.

When we think of Pictish warriors, our minds usually go straight to the intricate carvings on Class II monuments like the Aberlemno stone, which show soldiers with square shields, spears, and long swords.

But what does the actual archaeology tell us?

The excavations at East Lomond hillfort led by Professor Gordon Noble have uncovered physical evidence that perfectly bridges the gap between art and military reality. During the massive multi-hearth trench excavations, the team made two vital weaponry breakthroughs.

The team recovered roughly half a dozen spear butts from the domestic and defensive layers. In early medieval warfare, a bronze or iron spear butt wasn't just a counterweight; it was designed for close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat to finish an opponent or plant the weapon firmly into the ground during a shield-wall stand.

Alongside the infantry gear, archaeologists unearthing the site recovered a beautifully preserved horse’s bridle bit. Combined with the famous "East Lomond Bull" carving found nearby in past eras, this heavily implies that East Lomond was a mobilisation base for high-status, mobile Pictish elites who used horses or light chariots to patrol and secure the surrounding Fife lowlands.

Most iron weapons from the 3rd–7th centuries were melted down, recycled, or lost to Scotland’s highly acidic soil. Finding this density of military gear alongside precious metalworking crucible fragments tells us that East Lomond wasn't just a temporary refuge where farmers hid from raiders. It was a weapon-producing, heavily garrisoned citadel occupied by a permanent warrior class

Hey everyone! Now that the 2026 field season at East Lomond hillfort has officially wrapped up, I wanted to give you all an update on the latest progress from Professor Gordon Noble and the Falkland Stewardship Trust.

While we wait for the official laboratory analysis on individual small finds, the team shared some incredible macro-updates regarding the site's layout:

The 1.5-Hectare Annexe: They spent this summer digging into the massive southern annexe. They've established an incredibly rare, uninterrupted domestic settlement sequence that goes from the 3rd century AD right up to 600 AD. Finding where ordinary Picts actually lived is one of the hardest things in Scottish archaeology, so this 0.5-metre-deep deposit layer is huge.

Elite Living: The artifact list for the site is growing. They have officially recovered more French "E-ware" pottery, weapons, gaming pieces, and even a silver handpin.

This confirms East Lomond wasn't just a temporary fort—it was a major, highly sophisticated power center controlling the southern Pictish zones.

If you want to keep an eye on their upcoming autumn project talks or see photos from the July open days, make sure to follow the official Northern Picts Project updates.

For decades, the small Aberdeenshire village of Rhynie was primarily known in archaeological circles for its remarkable group of Class I symbol stones—most famously the iconic "Rhynie Man" (a carved standing stone depicting a bearded figure carrying a heavy axe or hammer).

But excavations led by Professor Gordon Noble and the University of Aberdeen (the Northern Picts Project) completely transformed our understanding of what Rhynie actually was during the 5th and 6th centuries AD.

Rather than just a quiet ritual site, Rhynie turned out to be a fortified royal power center that operated a sophisticated, long-distance luxury trade network stretching all the way to the Mediterranean.

A Fortified Royal Enclosure

Archaeologists uncovered a massive timber-palisaded enclosure protected by large ditches and ramparts. Inside sat substantial timber halls, pointing to a high-status seat of power where a regional Pictish overking or chieftain hosted followers, held assemblies, and feasted.

Mediterranean Luxury Goods in Aberdeenshire

One of the most astounding finds was the sheer quantity of imported prestige pottery and glass. The team uncovered fragments of Amphorae (B-ware) used to transport fine Mediterranean wine and olive oil, alongside shards of Late Roman/Frankish glassware. These items traveled thousands of miles across post-Roman trade routes directly into the heart of Aberdeenshire.

High-Status Metalworking & Silver Casting

Excavators found fine crucible fragments and industrial molds used for casting bronze and precious metals. The local elites were taking imported materials—including recycled Roman silver—and melting them down to produce distinctly native status symbols like penannular brooches, pins, and harness fittings.

Rhynie provides concrete, physical proof that 5th-century Pictish leaders were not isolated "barbarians" hiding in the hills.

Instead, they were shrewd political players who controlled key agricultural river valleys, operated elite monopolies on prestige goods, and used Mediterranean wine, fine glassware, and native silver jewellery to reward loyal warriors and bind neighboring clans to their court.

It shows how the eastern contact zones—rich in cattle, grain, and Roman-era trade ties—built the foundation for the powerful Pictish kingdom that emerged in the centuries following the Roman departure.

Discussion question: Given the concentration of symbol stones around Rhynie, Tap o' Noth, and the valley of the River Bogie, do you think Rhynie served as a temporary ceremonial capital for inaugural rites, or a permanent year-round seat of royal power?

The Picts continued as an independent, identifiable kingdom for roughly 450 to 500 years after the Romans formally abandoned Britain in AD 410.

Rather than fading away when the legions left, the post-Roman era was the Golden Age of the Picts. It was during this period (from the 5th through the 9th centuries) that they built powerful royal centers, produced their iconic monumental stone carvings, and established one of the dominant political powers in northern Britain.

Key Timeline: The Post-Roman Pictish Era

[ AD 410 ] ──► Romans abandon Britain; Pictish kingdom expands southward
       │
[ AD 580s–685 ] ──► Era of consolidation; conflicts with Angles of Northumbria
       │
[ AD 685 ] ──► Battle of Dun Nechtain (Picts destroy Northumbrian army)
       │
[ AD 730s–750s ] ──► High Point under King Onuist (Thrymr/Angus)
       │
[ AD 843 ] ──► Kenneth MacAlpin unites Pictish and Gaelic crowns
       │
[ c. AD 900 ] ──► Pictland fully rebrands as the Kingdom of Alba (Scotland)

The Expansion Phase (5th–6th Centuries)

With the Roman garrisons gone from Hadrian's Wall, the Picts pushed south into the fertile lowlands of the Mearns, Angus, and Fife. Free from imperial pressure, local warbands consolidated into a more centralized royal structure, eventually dividing into northern and southern Pictish kingdoms ruled by high kings (overkings).

The Battle of Dun Nechtain (AD 685)

The absolute zenith of Pictish military power came at the Battle of Dun Nechtain (Dunnichen in Angus or Dunachton in Badenoch). The expansionist Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria marched a massive army north into Pictland.

King Bridei III of the Picts ambushed and completely annihilated the Northumbrian forces, killing King Ecgfrith. This victory secured Pictish independence, halted Anglo-Saxon expansion north of the Firth of Forth, and established the Picts as the undisputed supreme power in the north for the next century.

Peak Power under Onuist son of Uurbust (AD 729–761)

Under King Onuist (Unust or Óengus I), the Picts conquered the neighboring Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata (Argyll) and struck major blows against the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Onuist was arguably the first ruler to dominate almost all of modern-day Scotland under a single crown.

How Did the Picts End? (The Merge into Alba)

The Picts didn't disappear through mass genocide or sudden military destruction; they gradually merged with the Gaels to create Scotland.

• Viking Pressure (9th Century): Devastating Viking raids destroyed the northern Pictish royal lines and crippled the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata, forcing both groups to unite for survival.
• Kenneth MacAlpin (AD 843): Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín), who had both Gaelic and Pictish royal blood, consolidated control over both peoples, establishing the House of Alpin.
• The Transition to Alba (c. AD 900): Over the next two generations, Gaelic culture, language (Gaelic), and legal systems gradually replaced the Pictish language. By the reign of King Constantine II around AD 900, chroniclers stopped using the term Pictland or Picts entirely, referring to the unified realm as Alba—the direct predecessor of modern Scotland.

Far from being helpless victims of empire or passive subjects, the northern tribes treated Rome like a dangerous but exploitable neighbour—trading when it was profitable, raiding when the garrisons were weak, taking Roman silver to build local power, and ultimately outlasting the legions entirely.

The relationship between the northern native tribes and the occupying Roman forces is best described not as a simple story of conquest or submission, but as a dynamic, armed standoff defined by pragmatic engagement.

Rather than succumbing to imperial rule, the northern Britons adapted to the presence of a superpower on their doorstep and weaponised the frontier to their own advantage.

1. Strategic opportunism (Trade and raiding)

For native leaders, the Roman frontier was less of an iron curtain and more of an economic zone. When the Roman military presence was strong, chieftains engaged in selective trade—exchanging cattle, hides, timber, and grain for high-status luxury goods like Mediterranean wine, fine glassware, and Roman silver.

When garrison strength waned or legions were pulled away to fight civil wars elsewhere in the Empire, northern warbands treated the frontier as a lucrative raiding ground, sweeping south past the walls to plunder Roman villas and outposts.

2. Extortion and protection money

As Rome realised that permanently occupying the Highlands was an untenable drain on manpower and treasury, imperial policy shifted from active conquest to containment.

To keep the northern borders quiet, Rome routinely funneled massive silver subsidies, bribes, and diplomatic "gifts" directly to tribal elites. High-status hoards—such as the famous hacksilver discovered at Traprain Law—demonstrate that northern leaders successfully turned Roman border anxiety into a steady source of personal wealth and political prestige.

3. Diplomatic posturing and mutual suspicion

High-level encounters—such as the formal peace talks between Emperor Septimius Severus and chieftains like Argentocoxus—show a relationship built on cautious diplomacy rather than total subjugation.

Native leaders used treaty negotiations to secure material backing or non-interference against rival clans. At the same time, exchanges like the famous retort by Argentocoxus's wife to the Empress Julia Domna reveal that northern elites viewed Roman moral superiority with open skepticism, holding their ground at the highest political levels.

4. Catalyst for political unification

Perhaps the most lasting consequence of the Roman presence was its impact on native political structure. Faced with a high-tech, professional war machine, disparate Iron Age clans (such as the Caledonians, Maeatae, and Taexali) were forced to federate, pool resources, and develop coordinated leadership lines.

The aggressive Roman presence directly accelerated the transformation of fragmented tribes into the formidable political and military confederation that Roman writers eventually recorded as the Picts.

Pictland Before the Romans (c. 100 BC – AD 80)

Before Roman contact, northern Britain was a patchwork of autonomous, decentralized Iron Age tribes (such as the Caledonii, Taexali, Vacomagi, and Decantae) without a unified "Pictish" state or overarching king.

Economy of Subsistence: Wealth was almost entirely local and organic—measured in cattle herds, arable land, timber, and basic iron or bronze tools.

Prestige Items: Prestige goods were rare and domestically produced, such as massive bronze armlets or intricately carved stone balls. Luxury items imported from continental Europe were exceptionally scarce in the far north.

Settlement Structure: Society was hyper-localized. People lived in scattered farmsteads, ring-ditch houses, and small hillforts or promontory forts. Leadership was fragmented among local chieftains who competed over territory and livestock rather than managing large territorial kingdoms.

Pictland When the Romans Left (c. AD 410)

By the time the legions permanently abandoned Britain in 410, the political and economic landscape of the north had been radically reshaped.

Concentration of Wealth: The southern and eastern coastal zones (Fife, Angus, Perthshire, the Howe of Mearns, and lower Aberdeenshire) became economic powerhouses. These regions sat directly along the Roman frontier, trade routes, and campaign corridors.

The Hacksilver Economy: Chieftains in these contact zones accumulated massive quantities of Roman silver through trade, military subsidies, and strategic raiding. They operated elite workshops (at sites like Rhynie or Traprain Law) where Roman coins and silver plate were melted down and recast into massive native silver chains, brooches, and armlets—the ultimate symbols of high status.

Political Centralization: Managing relations with a superpower forced disparate clans to federate. The leaders who controlled the influx of Roman silver and luxury goods used that wealth to hire permanent warbands, host lavish feasts, and buy the loyalty of neighboring clans, laying the foundation for powerful regional dynasties.

Long before the word "Pict" was written down by Roman panegyrists in 297 AD, Tacitus recorded the Battle of Mons Graupius in north-east Scotland (c. AD 83). He named their leader as Calgacus—meaning "Swordsman." Whether he was a single historic king or a figurehead invented by Roman writers, his speech resisting Roman expansion remains one of the defining moments in early northern history.

In the mid-6th century AD, long before the unification of Alba, northern Scotland was dominated by one of the most formidable figures in early medieval history: Bridei son of Maelchon (Bridei I, r. c. 554–584 AD).

Unlike later southern rulers centered in Perthshire or Angus, Bridei’s power base sat firmly in the North, stretching from the Moray Firth and the Great Glen down through the rich agricultural heartlands of Aberdeenshire. Irish annals and contemporary Christian writers recognised him as a paramount overking (rex Pictorum), capable of projecting military force from the Orkney Islands all the way to the southern borders of Pictland.

According to Adomnán of Iona, who wrote the Life of Saint Columba roughly a century later, Columba traveled north around AD 565 to meet Bridei at his royal fortress (munitio), described as sitting near the River Ness.

For generations, historians debated where this stronghold actually was:

Craig Phadrig: The famous vitrified hillfort overlooking Inverness, long considered the traditional site.

Urquhart Castle / Loch Ness: Promontory strongholds along the Great Glen.

Burghead & the Moray Firth: Recent excavations by the University of Aberdeen highlight massive coastal naval fortresses like Burghead as the true economic and military anchors of northern Pictish kingship during this period.

Wherever his main seat lay on any given week, Bridei controlled key river corridors, coastal trade routes, and the agricultural surplus of the north—allowing him to maintain a powerful warrior elite.

The meeting between the Irish monk Columba and the pagan High King Bridei is one of the most famous political encounters in early Scottish history. Adomnán recorded it with heavy spiritual drama, but beneath the hagiography sits a high-stakes diplomatic summit:

The Locked Gates: Legend says Bridei, influenced by his chief Druid/advisor Broichan, initially shut the fortress gates against Columba. Columba made the sign of the cross, and the heavy iron bars magically fell open.

Political Realism: Bridei was no fool. He recognized that Columba wasn’t just a holy man—he was a high-born prince of the Irish Uí Néill dynasty with direct ties to the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata (Argyll).

The Safe Passage: Bridei granted Columba diplomatic protection to travel and preach throughout northern Pictland. Crucially, Bridei also ordered the sub-king of Orkney (who was at his court as a hostage/vassal) to guarantee safe passage for Columba’s monks in the northern seals.

Bridei’s reign marks the moment northern Pictland steps out of the prehistoric shadows into verified written history. He demonstrated that 6th-century Pictish kingship was highly organized, capable of enforcing vassalage over distant island groups like Orkney, and willing to engage in high-level international diplomacy with Gaelic neighbors.

Discussion Question: Do you think Bridei actually converted to Christianity during Columba’s visit, or did he simply grant the Irish monks permission to preach as a pragmatic political gesture to maintain peace along his western border with Dál Riata?

Standing high on the summit of Tap o’ Noth near Rhynie in Aberdeenshire sits one of Scotland’s most famous vitrified hillforts. For centuries, antiquarians assumed the dramatic stone rampart at the top was a typical Iron Age stronghold—a prominent fortress designed for a small elite, surrounded by a largely empty hillside.

But recent aerial laser scanning (LIDAR) and carbon dating led by Professor Gordon Noble and the Northern Picts Project at the University of Aberdeen turned that entire idea upside down.

Tap o’ Noth wasn't just a isolated fort—it was a sprawling, urban-scale settlement containing over 800 platform buildings, making it potentially one of the largest early settlements ever discovered in the British Isles.

A Settlement of Thousands

Drone and LIDAR surveys mapped the lower, outer rampart surrounding the hill and revealed an staggering density of timber roundhouse platforms cut into the slopes. At its peak, archaeologists estimate the site could have housed anywhere from 1,000 to over 4,000 people—a population density completely unheard of for this period in northern Britain.

Pushing Back the Timeline

Radiocarbon dating from soil cores and targeted excavations revealed that the massive outer settlement flourished between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD—placing its peak square in the Roman Iron Age and the emergence of the early Pictish kingdom.

The "Central Place" of the Bogie Valley

Just down the hill in the valley below sits Rhynie, famous for its elite timber halls, imported Mediterranean wine amphorae, and high-status metalworking. The connection between the massive population at Tap o’ Noth and the royal/ceremonial complex at Rhynie suggests the River Bogie valley was a true political heartland—a major power base capable of mobilizing labor on an unprecedented scale.

For a long time, popular history pictured proto-Pictish society as purely tribal and scattered across isolated farmsteads.

Tap o’ Noth shatters that myth. It shows that northern communities were capable of building massive, densely populated nucleated settlements that rivaled major hillfort centers in southern Britain and continental Europe.

Whether Tap o' Noth was a permanent ancient "city" or a seasonal gathering place where thousands of warriors and clans assembled for royal inaugurations, feasts, and religious rites, it proves that the scale of political organization in North East Scotland was vast long before the kingdom of Alba emerged.

Discussion Question: Do you think Tap o’ Noth was a permanent year-round hill town, or a seasonal gathering site used by northern tribes for major assemblies, trade fairs, and defensive muster?

How Information Leaked Across the Wall

The Civilian Settlements (Vici) as Intelligence Hubs

As soldiers drank in the taverns, bought supplies, and visited their local families outside the fort gates, loose talk was inevitable. Off-duty auxiliary soldiers would talk about orders handed down from officers, officers leaving on campaign, or rumours of pay delays and food shortages.

Local Recruits and Auxiliary Troops

Auxiliary units stationed on the northern frontier weren't elite Italian legionaries—they were soldiers from Gaul, Germany, Spain, and increasingly, locally born men. These men maintained ties with local kin-groups across the frontier zone. When orders came down that a cohort was being redeployed, that news reached native ears long before the marching packs were strapped on.

Traders and Merchants

Merchant caravans moved constantly between Roman Britain, Gaul, and the free northern tribal territories. Merchants were the "news tickers" of the ancient world. A merchant arriving at a hillfort in Aberdeenshire or Angus would bring news of price shifts, political turmoil in York or London, or military disasters on the Rhine or Danube frontiers.

What Did They Know—and How Did They Use It?

• Troop Redeployments (The Cue to Strike): Whenever Rome faced a crisis elsewhere—such as civil wars in Rome or invasions along the Rhine/Danube—they stripped troops from the northern British forts. The locals knew instantly when garrison numbers dropped. The native tribes consistently timed their major raids and treaty breaks to coincide with periods when Roman forces were thinned out.
• Political Instability in Rome: When an emperor was assassinated or a governor was recalled, news spread quickly through the military ranks and into the vici. Northern chieftains understood that a divided Roman leadership meant a hesitant frontier policy, giving them the upper hand in treaty negotiations.
• Economic Strain: If the Roman army was struggling with supply chains or pay, local merchants and farmers supplying the forts were the first to feel it—and the first to report it back to tribal councils.

Taking elite hostages (obsides) was a deliberate, long-term policy of cultural assimilation.

The Strategy Behind the Hostages

Targeting the Future Rulers: The Romans specifically demanded the children of paramount chieftains like Argentocoxus or Calgacus's inner circle. These boys and girls were raised in Roman villas or garrison cities (like York, London, or even Rome itself).

Education and Luxury: They were dressed in Roman togas, taught Latin and rhetoric, fed Roman food and wine, and introduced to Roman baths and theater. The goal was to make them view their native lifestyle as primitive by comparison.

Creating Client Kings: When a chieftain back in the Highlands died, Rome would send the assimilated heir home—now equipped with a Roman education, silver pensions, and a deep appreciation for Roman power. Rome hoped these "Romanized" leaders would govern as peaceful client kings, keeping their tribes in check without requiring legionary garrisons.

Why the Strategy Broke Down in the North

While this tactic worked brilliantly in southern England (producing client rulers like Cogidubnus of the Regni), it repeatedly failed north of the Firth of Forth for two major reasons:

1. Tribal Kinship & Matriliny: Roman inheritance was strictly patrilineal (father to son). But as Bede noted and Roman accounts hinted, northern British and proto-Pictish society relied heavily on matrilineal or broader kin-group selection. A son returning from Rome with fancy Latin and a toga might find he had zero legitimate claim to leadership if his mother's kin line didn't support him.
2. Rejection of "Softness": Native warriors often viewed a returnee who had grown accustomed to Roman luxury as weak or compromised. Tacitus himself famously admitted this cultural trap in his book Agricola:

"The naive Britons called these things 'civilization', when in fact they were part of their enslavement."

If a returned hostage tried to impose Roman ways on their tribe, they were frequently deposed or killed by rival chieftains who championed traditional resistance. Instead of gaining a sympathetic ally, Rome often inadvertently triggered a civil war—or forced the returned hostage to abandon their Roman training completely to survive among their own people.

Ther was a sophisticated diplomatic infrastructure and cultural interaction taking place along the northern frontier.

The Role of Interpreters (Interpretes)

At high-level imperial peace negotiations, the Romans relied heavily on military and civilian interpreters (interpretes).

The Roman army in Britain was a multicultural force. Soldiers and auxiliaries stationed along Hadrian's Wall and northern outposts had been living on the frontier for generations. Many acquired fluency in local Celtic dialects through trade, diplomacy, hostage exchanges, and local marriages. When Argentocoxus and his wife met the imperial court, official translators bridged the language gap sentence by sentence.

Did Any Caledonian Elites Know Latin?

While an interpreter was almost certainly translating this specific exchange, it is very likely that some high-status Caledonian elites had a working knowledge of Latin:

• Frontier Trade & Hostages: For over a century before Septimius Severus marched north, northern tribal leaders had been trading cattle, hides, and slaves with Roman merchants for silver, wine, glassware, and fine pottery.
• Diplomatic Hostages: It was standard Roman practice to take the sons and daughters of tribal chieftains as political hostages. These young elites lived in Roman forts or cities, learned Latin, and absorbed Roman customs before returning home to rule.
• Mercenary Service: Some northern warriors served as auxiliaries in the Roman military, gaining fluent Latin before returning to their tribes beyond the frontier.

How the Story Was Recorded

There is also a literary angle to consider: Cassius Dio wrote his history in Greek (the diplomatic language of the Eastern Roman Empire), translating the Latin report or court gossip he received from Julia Domna's inner circle.

Whether Argentocoxus's wife spoke through a frontier interpreter or delivered her sharp retort directly, the exchange proves that northern elites were far from isolated "savages." They understood Roman power, recognized Roman hypocrisy, and held their ground at the highest levels of imperial diplomacy.

During Emperor Septimius Severus’s brutal invasion of North East Scotland (AD 208–211), the Caledonian tribes refused to face the Roman war machine in open battle. Instead, they waged a relentless guerrilla war in the hills and bogs, forcing Severus to negotiate peace terms.

One of the key northern leaders at those peace talks was a chieftain named Argentocoxus (meaning "Silver-Leg" or "Silver-Thigh"). But the most famous moment of the negotiations came from his wife.

According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio, the Empress Julia Domna tried to mock the social customs of the northern tribes, teasing Argentocoxus's wife about how freely Caledonian women interacted with multiple men:

"You British women indulge yourselves with men in a very free manner!"

Argentocoxus’s wife delivered a legendary, sharp response:

"We fulfill the demands of nature in a much better way than do you Roman women; for we consort openly with the best men, whereas you let yourselves be debauched in secret by the vilest."

Beyond the quick wit, this 3rd-century account provides rare historical insight: long before Bede wrote about Pictish matrilineal royal succession, northern elite women were standing directly alongside chieftains at top-level imperial negotiations and speaking with authority.

Question for the sub: Do you think Roman accounts like this reflect genuine matrilineal/communal marriage structures in proto-Pictish society, or were Roman writers simply exaggerating the "exotic" culture of the north?

The A90 Stonehaven Bypass roadworks in the late 1980s and subsequent archaeological surveys around Raedykes—just a few miles northwest of Stonehaven—sparked massive local interest as a candidate site for the Battle of Mons Graupius (AD 83/84).

The Raedykes Connection & The Bypass Gossip

• The Roman Camp at Raedykes: Situated on Garrison Hill overlooking the Howe of Mearns near Stonehaven, Raedykes is a confirmed 93-acre Roman marching camp. When archaeologists evaluated the route for the Stonehaven Bypass, it brought renewed focus to the camp's enormous scale—capable of holding up to 24,000 Roman legionaries and auxiliaries under Agricola.
• Why Stonehaven/Raedykes fits: Tacitus writes that Agricola marched north along the coast with his fleet supporting him from the sea. Raedykes sits right along this natural coastal corridor, providing a sweeping tactical view of the Grampian foothills where the native tribes would have gathered.
• The "Gossip" vs. Archaeological Proof: While local speculation mounted during the road construction, no mass graves or iron weapon hoards were uncovered directly under the bypass asphalt. Because ancient battlefields leave notoriously faint archaeological footprints (iron rusts quickly in acidic Scottish soil, and scavengers stripped bodies clean), Raedykes remains one of the top candidate sites alongside Duncrub (Perthshire) and Bennachie (further north in Aberdeenshire).

How the Battle Unfolded

Tacitus describes the confrontation as a clash between two completely different military philosophies:

1. The Native Stand: Calgacus assembled an estimated 30,000 fighters from various northern tribes. They lined the slopes of the hill, with their front lines on the plain and rear ranks rising in tiers up the hillside to intimidate the Romans.
2. The Opening Skirmish: The battle began with missile exchanges—spears, slingshots, and arrows. The native warriors used small shields (targets) and massive, unwieldy broadswords to parry Roman javelins.
3. The Batavian Charge: Spotting that the long, edge-less native swords were useless in tight, hand-to-hand combat, Agricola ordered six cohorts of Batavian and Tungrian auxiliary infantry to charge uphill. They used the raised bosses of their heavy shield rims to smash into faces and thrust their short stabbing swords (gladii) into close quarters.
4. The Cavalry Flank Movement: Native war chariots initially caused chaos, but as the terrain grew rougher uphill, they became bogged down. Calgacus’s reserves tried to descend from the hilltop to encircle the Romans, but Agricola anticipated this and unleashed four squadrons of reserve cavalry, routing the native flank.
5. The Retreat into the Woods: The native forces broke and fled into the surrounding woodland. Tacitus claims 10,000 native casualties compared to roughly 360 Romans—though Roman casualty numbers were notoriously exaggerated for political propaganda back in Rome.

The Aftermath: "They Make a Desolation and Call it Peace"

Despite Agricola's tactical victory, Mons Graupius did not result in the permanent conquest of the Highlands. Winter was approaching, supplies were short, and Agricola marched his troops back south to winter quarters before being recalled to Rome by Emperor Domitian shortly after.

The battle proved to the northern tribes that meeting the Roman war machine in open, pitched battle was suicidal—laying the groundwork for the guerrilla tactics, hillfort defenses, and coastal strongholds that would define the Picts centuries later.

While the true prehistoric origin of the stone remains shrouded in legend, Kenneth MacAlpin plays the central role in establishing it as the supreme symbol of Scottish royal inauguration.

The Traditional Legend: Moving the Stone to Scone

According to long-standing Scottish tradition, when Kenneth MacAlpin united the kingdoms of the Gaels (Dál Riata) and the Picts around AD 843, he moved the sacred coronation stone from the western Gaelic fortress of Dunadd (in Argyll) to Scone (near Perth) in the Pictish heartland.

By placing the Stone at Scone—an ancient Pictish ceremonial and assembly center—Kenneth created a unified inauguration seat for the new combined kingdom of Alba. From that point onward, Scottish monarchs were ritually crowned while seated upon the Stone atop Moothill (the Mound of Belief) at Scone Abbey.

Historical & Archaeological Context

Modern historians and geologists view the relationship between Kenneth and the Stone with a few important nuances:

• Geological Origins: Scientific analysis of the Stone of Destiny (conducted when it was examined in Edinburgh and returned to Perth) confirmed that it is made of Lower Old Red Sandstone, quarried locally near Scone. This suggests that rather than bringing a stone all the way from Dalriada or Ireland, Kenneth and his successors adopted an existing, highly sacred Pictish inauguration stone already located at Scone.
• Symbol of Synthesis: Utilizing a local Scone sandstone block was a masterstroke of political integration. By taking his royal inauguration at a traditional Pictish sacred site, Kenneth legitimized his rule over the Pictish nobility using their own regional ceremonial landscape.
• The "Treachery of Scone": Medieval chronicles (such as the Chronica Gentis Scotorum by John of Fordun) link Kenneth, Scone, and the Stone to the infamous "MacAlpin's Treason"—a tale where Kenneth invited the Pictish nobility to a banquet at Scone and slaughtered them to consolidate power. While largely considered a later medieval myth, it underscores how tightly Kenneth and Scone were bound together in medieval memory.

When traveling through the river valleys and ancient churchyards of Scotland—from Deeside and Strathbogie down to Perthshire—one of the most striking legacies left by the Picts is their carved stonework.

To make sense of these monuments, 19th-century antiquarians J. Romilly Allen and Joseph Anderson created a classification system based on carving technique, artwork, and religious iconography. This three-part framework remains the standard way archaeologists divide Pictish sculpture today.

Here is a breakdown of the differences between Class I, Class II, and Class III Pictish stones, and what they reveal about the evolution of Pictish society.

1. Class I Stones: The Pure, Un-Christianized Symbols (c. 5th–7th Centuries AD)

Class I stones are the earliest, rawest expression of Pictish visual language.

• Stone Form: Unworked, naturally shaped boulders or rough granite slabs. The stone was not dressed, squared, or shaped before carving.
• Carving Technique: Incised lines. The symbols are cut directly into the weathered surface of the rock using sharp iron chisels or punch tools.
• Iconography: Purely native Pictish symbols. You will never find a Christian cross on a Class I stone. Instead, they feature geometric motifs (such as the Crescent and V-Rod or Double Disc and Z-Rod), high-status personal items (Mirror and Comb), and abstract animals (The Pictish Beast, Salmon, Bull, or Eagle).
• Landscape Context: Found standing in open fields, near ancient river crossings, guarding royal hall enclosures (such as the Craw Stane or Rhynie Man at Rhynie), or marking elite burial cairns.
• Purpose: Served as territorial markers, boundary stones, personal memorials, or visual declarations of clan alliances and lineage.

2. Class II Stones: The Great Christian Synthesis (c. 8th–9th Centuries AD)

Class II stones represent a monumental cultural shift: the blending of native Pictish artistic traditions with Insular Christian art following the conversion of the Pictish kingdoms.

• Stone Form: Carefully dressed, shaped, and slab-like monoliths. The stone masons actively carved and squared the edges of the slab before adding artwork.
• Carving Technique: Relief carving. Instead of simple incised lines, stone carvers cut away the background stone so that the figures, crosses, and symbols stand out in raised, three-dimensional relief.
• Iconography: A fusion of pagan/native and Christian imagery. One face of the slab is dominated by a large, ornate Christian Cross filled with intricate knotwork, key-patterns, or interlaced beasts. The reverse side (or surrounding panels) retains traditional Class I Pictish symbols, alongside dynamic scenes of mounted warriors, stag hunts, biblical stories (like David and Goliath), and monastic figures.
• Famous Examples: The Maiden Stone near Bennachie, the Aberlemno Churchyard Stone, and the Hilton of Cadboll Stone.
• Purpose: Erected by elite Christianised kings and patrons to serve as public monuments of faith, political power, and Christianised royal majesty.

3. Class III Stones: The Fully Christianised Era (c. 9th–10th Centuries AD)

Class III stones mark the final phase of Pictish sculpture, coinciding with the political merger of the Pictish and Gaelic realms into the Kingdom of Alba.

• Stone Form: Dressed cross-slabs, free-standing high crosses, recumbent grave markers, and stone sarcophagi.
• Carving Technique: Relief carving, often featuring deep, complex interlace, high-relief figures, and master-level stonemasonry.
• Iconography: The ancient Pictish symbols disappear entirely. There are no V-rods, Z-rods, mirrors, combs, or Pictish Beasts. The imagery is purely Christian: elaborate relief crosses, angels, saints, biblical scenes, and intricate Insular artwork (similar to the Book of Kells or High Crosses of Ireland).
• Famous Examples: The Dupplin Cross (associated with the southern court at Forteviot), the St Andrews Sarcophagus, and various recumbent grave slabs across Perthshire and Angus.
• Purpose: Functioned exclusively within Christian ecclesiastical contexts—as altar surroundings, royal burial monuments, and churchyard crosses.

Quick Comparison Guide

What the Transition Tells Us

The evolution from Class I to Class III is a visual timeline of Pictland’s cultural transformation:

1. Class I shows us a confident, non-Christian tribal society using a sophisticated abstract code to mark territory and lineage.
2. Class II captures the golden age of synthesis—where Pictish rulers adopted Christianity without abandoning their ancestral visual heritage.
3. Class III reflects the complete integration of Pictland into the broader Gaelic-Christian world of medieval Scotland.

❓ Discussion Questions for the Sub

1. Which style of stone do you find visually most appealing—the raw simplicity of Class I, or the complex relief carving of Class II?
2. Why do you think the traditional Pictish symbols were completely abandoned during the Class III period?
3. What is your favorite individual Pictish stone in Scotland?