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Castle Sween. Plans of First Floor, parapet and upper floor of North-West tower.
DC 24578
Description Castle Sween. Plans of First Floor, parapet and upper floor of North-West tower.
Date 1990
Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu
Catalogue Number DC 24578
Category Prints and Drawings
Copies SC 360782, SC 360780, SC 360781
Scope and Content Ground-floor plan of Castle Sween, Knapdale, Argyll Castle Sween, Scotland's oldest standing castle, was built to defend Knapdale in the 12th century and modified in the 14th and 15th centuries. Garrisoned for the Parliament in 1640s, it was captured and burnt by Royalists and then abandoned. The main gate has a slot for a heavy drawbar. John Menteith rebuilt the west wing (left) around 1300, also adding a round latrine tower with crosslet-slits. The north-east tower was probably added by the MacMillans who held Sween for the MacDonalds after Crosslet, or cross-shaped, arrow-loops were rare in Scottish castles. They first appeared in England in the early 13th century. The horizontal slit was probably intended to give an archer a wider field of vision without exposing him to attackers. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
Medium Pen and ink
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/111353
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