Trusty's Hill

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Trusty's Hill
Pictish Symbols at Trustys Hill (geograph 4371317).jpg
Dumfries and Galloway UK location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Dumfries and Galloway
Locationnear Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway
Coordinates 54°52′43.97″N4°12′3.42″W / 54.8788806°N 4.2009500°W / 54.8788806; -4.2009500
OS grid reference NX58895601
Type hillfort
Length29 m (95 ft)
Width17 m (56 ft)
Area0.04 ha (0.099 acres) (summit enclosure)
History
Foundedc. 600 AD
Abandonedearly 7th century
Site notes
Excavation dates1960, 2012
Designated19 January 1926
Reference no. SM1100

Trusty's Hill is a small vitrified hillfort about a mile to the west of the present-day town of Gatehouse of Fleet, in the parish of Anwoth in the Stewartry district of Dumfries and Galloway.

Contents

The site is notable for a carved Pictish stone located near the entrance to the fort, one of only a handful of such stones found outside the core Pictish heartland of North-East Scotland. A 2012 archaeological investigation found evidence of feasting and high-status metalworking at the site, and what has been interpreted as a constructed ceremonial processional route. Together these have led to speculation that the site might have been an important centre or location of royal inaugurations for a Brythonic kingdom centred in Galloway and South-West Scotland, circa 600 AD — perhaps to be identified with the elusive north British kingdom of Rheged, which gained greatest prominence under its legendary leader Urien at a similar time in the late 6th century before apparently utterly disappearing in the early 7th century.

Description and history

Further reading