Publication Account

Date 1977

Event ID 1018430

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018430

Little is actually known of the castle of Inverurie. In the late twelfth century Malcolm, son of Bartoli, held the castle as constable for David, Earl of Huntingdon (Davidson, 1878, 2). Up to the date of its abandonment it was the chief seat of the lords of the Garioch. The discovery of early fourteenth century lottery on the motte, or the Bass, as it more popularly was known, suggest that it was a castle site to at least the period of the Wars of Independence. Bass and Little Bass (the bailey) were connected before excavations and alterations were undergone in 1883. During the excavations the remains of an oaken gangway up the south side were discovered. The circumference of the Bass is 510 feet (155m) at the bottom and 240 feet (73m) at the top (Anon, n. d., no page number), with the surrounding ditch estimated to have been up to ten feet (3m) wide and at least eight feet (2m) deep (Simpson, 1924, 41).

Information from ‘Historic Inverurie: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1977).