Ancient Alba

There’s a reference to a battle in Pictland at a place called Luith Feirnn in the Irish annals for the year 664AD. This is around 20 years before the famous battle of Dunnichen, where the Picts defeated the Northumbrian Saxons. The Picts were led by Bridei Mac Beli, a prince of Strathclyde who claimed the Pictish high kingship. The battle of Luith Feirnn took place in Fortrenn, which was another name for Pictland. The entry in the Irish annals simply states; “The battle of Luith Feirnn, i.e. in Fortrenn.” This battle is interesting as it’s the first time Fortrenn is mentioned in the Irish annals. Fortrenn was also the name of a Pictish province, which gave its name to the whole of Pictland. The location of Fortrenn is unknown. The traditional idea is that Fortrenn was located in Strathearn and Menteith in southern Pictland. However, historians have recently suggested that Fortrenn was located in Moray in northern Pictland. The location of Luith Feirnn is also unknown. Feirnn is th...

One of the proposed locations for the battle of Mons Graupius is a place called Duncrub in Strathearn. This is one of the most southern locations. Duncrub is close to a small town called Dunning, just to the north of the Ochil hills. Strathearn is a valley which runs from Loch Earn to the west all the way to the Firth of Tay to the east. The main reason why some historians believe Duncrub is the location is the name. The word ‘crub’ is Gaelic for a ridge. The name Graupius is supposedly derived from ‘crub’. Duncrub means the ‘fort of the ridge’ and Mons Graupius means the ‘hill of the ridge’. However, there are other places in Scotland with the word crub. For example, there’s a Cruban Beg and   Cruban Mor in the highlands, to the north of Atholl, which means the ‘little ridge’ and the ‘big ridge’. The name Grampians is also derived from Graupius. There’s a Roman marching camp at Dunning of around 115 acres, which may date to the campaigns of Agricola around 80AD. However, the mar...

The other day, I walked up to Skirley Craig hillfort on the boundary of the Scottish highlands, to the north of Crieff. Crieff is a small town in Strathearn, located on a hill overlooking the valley. Just to the north of the town is the Knock of Crieff, which is Gaelic for the hill of Crieff. The name Crieff is derived from the Gaelic, Craoibh, which means ‘tree’ or perhaps ‘sacred tree’. To the north of the hill or knock, is Monzie estate. I walked through the estate on my way to Skirley Craig hillfort, and came across a stone circle or burial cairn. There was a large stone lying flat on the ground, which had ‘cup and ring mark’ carvings. The carvings are thought to date to the Neolithic, around 5,000 years ago. The meaning and purpose of the carvings is unknown. However, I would like to think that they were trying to map the heavens. Most of the cup and ring mark carvings in Scotland are found to the west, with good examples in Kilmartin glen in Argyll. They’re found in Scotland, Wal...

A while ago, I was able to attend the open day of St Vigeans Pictish stones museum. St Vigeans is a small village close to the town of Arbroath on the north east coast. At St Vigeans, there’s a church on a large mound overlooking the Brothock water, which runs down to Arbroath. Dozens of Pictish stones and stone fragments were found at the church. St Vigeans was probably the site of a Pictish monastery dating to the 8 th century. There were a couple of Pictish stones I wanted to see, one of them being the Drostan stone with the inscription ‘Drostan in the time of Uurad and Fergus’. However, I came across a couple of stone fragments, which I found quite interesting. On one of the fragments, there’s a figure with a hood and two symbols, a monk or abbot’s staff and a double disc. The other fragment has the head of the horse, which the figure is probably riding. At the back of the two fragments, there’s a Celtic cross. These stone fragments probably date to the 8 th /9 th centuries. As f...

In the 4 th century AD, the Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus explained that two Pictish tribes, the Dicalydones and Verturiones were raiding Britannia along with the Scots and the Attacotti. Whilst we know about the Scots and the Picts, the identity of the Attacotti is unknown. St Jerome explains that the Attacotti were serving in the Roman army in Gaul in the 4 th century. I would suggest that the Attacotti were the tribe based at Dunadd in Dalriada in the west of Scotland. Dunadd is located next to the River Add, which runs through Strathadd and down to the west coast. In some sources, Dunadd is referred to as Dun Att. There is also a river in North Italy called the River Adda. The cotti element of the name may have something to do with the French words côte, meaning ‘coast’ and à côté, meaning ‘next to’. The word côte is supposedly derived from the Latin, costa. The name Dalriada may also be derived from the word Add or Adda. However, Riata is supposedly the name of the commo...

According to the Annals of Tigernach, Maelmorda was of the Conaille Muirthemne. He was also the half brother or foster brother of Diarmaid Mac Cearbaill, the high king who succeeded Tuathal Maelgarbh. The Conaille Muirthemne were a Pictish tribe, also known as Cruithne, based in County Louth just to the north of County Meath. This is another interesting parallel with the Arthurian legends. Mordred was the son of King Lot, who was a king of the Picts, based in the Lothians in Scotland. The names County Louth and the Lothians are both possibly derived from the Celtic god, Lugh. There are also examples of the name Tuathal in Welsh folklore. In the story Math son of Mathonwy in the Mabinogion, there’s a place called Caer Dathal in Arfon, which is the fort of Math son of Mathonwy, the king of Gwynedd. Dathal is the Welsh version of the name Tuathal. The name Math is probably derived from Mathan, which is Gaelic for bear. Furthermore, in the story Culhwch and Olwen, the sons of Laen who are...

The Dunfallandy Pictish stone www.canmore.org.uk Just outside of Pitlochry at a place called Dunfallandy, there is a Class II Pictish stone. This is probably one of my favourite Pictish stones. The stone dates to around the 8th/9th centuries. It’s located on a small hill or mound on the west bank of the River Tummel. The mound overlooks some fields towards the west. The stone has been placed in a small shelter to protect it from the weather. On one side of the stone, there’s an ornately carved Christian cross. There are animals, beasts and angels on either side of the cross. On the other side, there are three figures. There are two figures sitting on thrones, probably a man and a woman. Below, there’s a figure on horseback. They’re probably clergy or royalty, or both. Many monks and nuns were actually princes and princesses, who chose the religious life. The Dunfallandy Pictish stone was known as Clach an t-Sagairt, the Priest’s stone in Gaelic. Dunfallandy is located in an area called...