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Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016568
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016568
The twin peaks of Dumbarton Rock (a volcanic plug similar in origin to Edinburgh and Stirling Castle Hills) rise dramatically from the north shore of the Clyde at its confluence with the River Leven to form a site of great natural strength, which is reputed to have the longest recorded history of any fortification in Britain. From at least the 5th century AD it served as the principal stronghold of the Britons of Strathclyde, thereafter it was a royal castle, and during the postmedieval period the castle was used as an artillery fortress guarding the approaches to Glasgow.
Little now survives of the early historic fortifications or of the urbs (town) mentioned by Bede, but excavations carried out by Professor Alcock in 1974-5 revealed the remains of a rampart on the east peak, as well as finds of imported Mediterranean pottery and Merovingian glass. These, and the radiocarbon dates obtained from the rampart, tie in with the early documentary references to the site in the period AD 400-1000, when it was known to the Britons as Alcluith (Clyde Rock) and to the Irish annalists as Dun Breatann (Fort of the Britons). It is clear from the early references that the site was frequently attacked, and it owed its strategic significance to its proximity to the ford across the Clyde at Dumbuck (2km to the east), which, until the channel was artificially deepened in recent times, was the lowest crossing point of the river.
Apart from sections of the Curtain Wall and the 14th century Portcullis Arch, which guards the way up through the cleft between the two peaks, the medieval castle has been all but obliterated by the post-medieval fortifications. The advent of artillery necessitated a major reorganisation of the defences, and during the 16th and 17th centuries a series of batteries was built to cover the river and the approaches to the castle, Following the troubles of 1715 the defences were further improved with the addition of King George's Battery and the construction of the Governor's House (1735) at its rear. Minor alterations were made during the Napoleonic Wars, and the castle was last refortified during World War II when it was equipped with an anti-aircraft battely.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Clyde Estuary and Central Region’, (1985).
