Dunadd

The excavations at Dunadd in 1980-81 have recently been published as

Lane, A and Campbell, E 2000 Dunadd: an early Dalriadic capital. Oxbow Monograph: Oxford. 295pp, 236 illus, 28 colour plates, plus 202 pp Web archive. ISBN 1-84217-024-4

This report gives the first full account of the royal hillfort of Dunadd, capital of the early Scottish kingdom of Dal Riata. The excavations have revealed the chronology of the fort, and recovered large quantities of artefacts, particularly the debris of a seventh century workshop for the production of penannular brooches. The importance of the site in the development of the Insular Art Style, and of the production of brooches similar to the Hunterston brooch, is discussed. Large quantities of imported material show trading contacts with the Continent and Mediterranean. The use of the site as the inauguration place of the kings of Dal Riata is discussed, as well as the position of the site as a classic Dark Age 'nuclear fort'.
 
 
for further information or comments

e.campbell@archaeology.arts.gla.ac.uk