Overview

Trusty's Hill is an early medieval fort at Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway. The hillfort comprises a fortified citadel defined by a vitrified rampart around its summit, with a number of enclosures looping out along lower-lying terraces and crags. The approach to its summit is flanked on one side by a circular rock-cut basin and on the other side by Pictish Symbols carved on to the face of a natural outcrop of bedrock. This Pictish inscribed stone is unique in Dumfries and Galloway, and southern Scotland, and has long puzzled scholars as to why the symbols were carved so far from Pictland and even if they are genuine. The Galloway Picts Project, launched in 2012, aimed to recover evidence for the archaeological context for the inscribed stone, but far from validating the existence of Picts in this southerly region of Scotland, the archaeological context instead suggests the carvings relate to a royal stronghold and place of inauguration for the local Britons of Galloway around AD 600. Examined in the context of contemporary sites across Scotland and northern England, the archaeological evidence from Galloway suggests that this region may have been the heart of the lost Dark Age kingdom of Rheged, a kingdom that was in the late sixth century pre-eminent amongst the kingdoms of the north. The new archaeological evidence from Trusty's Hill enhances our perception of power, politics, economy and culture at a time when the foundations for the kingdoms of Scotland, England and Wales were being laid.

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9781785703119

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Reviews

Toolis and Bowles have confirmed that Trusty's Hill deserves a place on the settlement maps of early medieval Britain... The resulting finely illustrated report has drawn on the key specialists and a range of up-to date techniques and finds analysis. --Alan Lane Antiquity

...a fascinating site and the authors work hard to draw out the history, role, setting and end of what was no doubt a prominent seat in the region's early medieval landscapes. -- Neil Christie * Medieval Settlement Research Group * ...the volume is well written and an essential contribution to early medieval studies in northern Britain. -- Gordon Noble * Journal of Medieval Archaeology *

...a fascinating site and the authors work hard to draw out the history, role, setting and end of what was no doubt a prominent seat in the region's early medieval landscapes. -- Neil Christie * Medieval Settlement Research Group *

...the volume is well written and an essential contribution to early medieval studies in northern Britain. -- Gordon Noble * Medieval Archaeology * ...a fascinating site and the authors work hard to draw out the history, role, setting and end of what was no doubt a prominent seat in the region's early medieval landscapes. -- Neil Christie * Medieval Settlement Research Group *

Author Information

Ronan Toolis is a Director of GUARD Archaeology Ltd. He has excavated extensively in Scotland, with particular emphasis on prehistoric settlements across south-west Scotland, and has written numerous articles on Scottish archaeology. Christopher Bowles is the Archaeology Officer for Scottish Borders Council. He is responsible for providing archaeological advice to planning and land managers to ensure the sustainable protection and management of the region's heritage. He continues to develop the region's Historic Environment Record and is actively involved in all aspects of community engagement and promotion of the Borders' rich archaeology.

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