Green Castle, Portknockie
Archaeological site in Moray, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Green Castle is a naturally defended rocky outcrop in the village of Portknockie in Moray, Scotland, that was occupied successively by small promontory forts of the Iron Age and Pictish periods.[1]
| Green Castle | |
|---|---|
  Green Castle Location of Green Castle in Moray | |
| 57.70607°N 2.85894°W | |
| Type | Promontory fort |
| Periods | Iron Age, Pictish |
| Site notes | |
| Length | 70 metres (230 ft) |
| Width | 15 metres (49 ft) |
The site forms a rocky headland 70 metres (230 ft) long and 15 metres (49 ft) wide, surrounded by steep cliffs rising 20 metres (66 ft) high above the sea.[2] The site was extensively excavated between 1976 and 1982.[1]
During the Iron Age a single palisade was built to protect the headland at its landward side.[2] Traces of the slot created by these timbers, together with an Iron Age sherd and pits have been excavated.[1] This occupation period produced evidence of metalworking, including fragments of moulds, furnaces, hammerstones and whetstones.[1] Ard marks over the upper surfaces of Iron Age archaeological layers suggest that the site was then used for agriculture before being reused for defensive purposes during the Pictish period.[1]
A new timber palisade backfilled by beach cobbles marked a first phase of Pictish activity on the site.[1] The fort was then extensively rebuilt in the 7th and 8th centuries – possibly in response to the start of Norse raids on the northern Pictish Kingdom of Fortriu – with a more sophisticated structure of timber-laced stone ramparts protecting a central stone hall.[2] These defences were later destroyed by fire, possibly the result of a Viking siege.[2]
During the 19th century the site was used for fish drying and most of the area was covered by low stone platforms.[1]