OS1/25/5/48
| List of names as written | Various modes of spelling | Authorities for spelling | Situation | Description remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORT | [Continued] | Fort continued ... the inner one, and seems to be constructed entirely of earth as its surface consists of a fine Sward of grass. No ditches or mounds appear on the north and west sides, as the hill here are steep and of difficult access. On the outside of the fort and immediately at the west end, there was a very deep well or small pond which is now filled up with stones (see Trace 4) The people of the locality believe this to have been the well for the supply of water to the fort. "Barry Hill, the supposed place of Vanora's confinement merits some description. It is one of the Grampians 1¼ miles N.E. [North East] of Alyth it commands an extensive view of Strathmore and of Several remarkable hills in the Sidla range &c. History informs us that the Picts kept possession of Dun-barry and the adjacent country, from a remote period to the 9th Century, or later, but the precise dates of their settlement in those parts, and of their expulsion, cannot be ascertained. The hill itself is of an oval form. Its summit was levelled into an area 180 feet long and 72 or 74 broad. Around the area a mound of earth was raised from 6 to 8 feet high, and 10 to 12 broad at top. On this mound a wall of freestone was built without any cement whatever. The foundation of the wall was composed of rough granite, and still remains. It is of the same breadth with the summit of the mound, but the height of the wall cannot be known. Gordon's estimate of it is extremely erroneous. Among the ruins there are several pieces of vitrified stones: but these vitrifications must have been accidental, as they are few an inconsiderable. Along the west and north borders of the Area, barracks or huts, were built of dry stones, and Sufficiently sheltered by the mound and wall; but no structures of this sort can be traced in the south part of this Area. As the north and west sides of the hill are steep and of difficult access, there was no need of an outer ditch in those quarters; But, towards the south and east, where the hill gently slops there is a ditch 10ft [feet] broad and 12 to 16 feet below the foundation of the wall. At the south east extremity of the fort, a narrow bridge was raised over the ditch, 18 feet long and 2 road, except towards each end, where the breadth was increased. It was composed of stones laid together, without much art, and vitrified above and below and on both sides; so that the whole mass was firmly cemented, that an opening was left below, after the process was finished ... |
Continued entries/extra info
[Page] 48"Barry-hill near Alyth, in
Perthshire, is probably nothing
more, in the derivation of its
name, than Bar-ra, a hill fort.
The tradition of the country which
is probably derived from the fiction
of Baese, relates that, this vast
strength of Barry-hill was the
appropriate prison of Arthur's
queen, the well Known Guenever,
who had been taken prisoner by
the Picts"
Chalmers Caledonia
"Barry Castle where the
Isla debouches into the plain
of Strathmore, Situated
on a very commanding Eminence"
Speculated by Roy to be
the nameless Station of the X
[heir] of Richard
JB
Transcriber's notes
Some words could not be decipheredTranscribers who have contributed to this page.
Bizzy- Moderator, DANIALSAN, Brenda Pollock
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