Field Visit
Date 2 July 1925
Event ID 1099075
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1099075
Maiden Castle, Dunipace Hill [sic].
At the eastern extremity of the parish, on a low ridge running north and south and opposite the bridge which passes over Kennoway Burn, is a steep conical knoll of artificial construction known as the Maiden Castle and evidently a mediaeval mote-hill. The summit of the knoll is planted around the margin with trees, and the slopes on the west, south-west, and south are thickly covered with a growth of whins, while there are two comparatively recent excavations near the crest on the east. Around the slopes, especially on the west and south, there are indications of a slight terracing, and a flattening of the ridge suggests that there has been an approach from the south or south-east. The summit of the knoll is of a roughly circular form, outlined by a low ridge scarcely rising above the interior level. In the centre is a circular depression, approximately 3 feet in depth and 18 feet in diameter. The site is traditionally associated with "Macduff, Thane of Fife," Hector Boece describing it as surrounded by seven ramparts and the same number of ditches and as the remains of the place wherefor a long time lived the descendants of the "illustrious" Macduff (1).
RCAHMS 1933, visited 2 July 1925.
xxviii N .E.
(1) Scotorum Historiae, Paris, 1526, lib. x, fo. ccv verso.
