An Dun Gael

In the epic historical fiction novel, Daughter of the Gods, Flora visits a seer in An Dun Gael, where she receives a vision about her future calling by the gods.  The Arch Druid, Bhatair Rhu, later takes her to the top of An Dun Gael to see a symbol of the power that Highland warriors wield over the armies of Rome.

The name, An Dun Gael, means the “White Fortress.”  It is a ringfort, situated on a rocky crag above the Fortingall Yew tree.  The remains of many such ringforts are scattered throughout Glen Lyon and also near Queensview on Loch Tummel in Scotland. An Dun Gael is approximately 60 feet in diameter and its stone walls are 8-14 feet thick.  Ringforts were circular structures with stone walls.  They likely had thatch or turf roofs.  They may either have been small defensive forts or elaborate homes for prestigious families.

Local legend contends that An Dun Gael was the homestead of the high chief of the Caledonian tribes during the time when Rome ruled in the south of Britain.  Later legend even suggests that it could have been Camelot, the famous castle of King Arthur.  Several early Welsh manuscripts suggest that the King Arthur of legend was actually a Scottish warlord who united the disparate clans and tribes of the Highlands (but that’s a story for another day).

In Daughter of the Gods, I described An Dun Gael as a broch instead of a smaller ringfort.  Broch’s were huge circular stone towers, shaped something like an immense jug or jar.  They had a double wall around the circumference which enclosed a spiral staircase.  These brochs date to the British Iron Age (800 B.C to 100 A. D.), but were re-used well into the fourth century.  The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland estimate that there are as many as 571 broch sites scattered throughout the country, primarily in the highlands and the islands.  Brochs vary from 16-50 feet in diameter with walls up to 10 feet thick.  They stood as high as 40 feet tall.  Brochs are unique to Scotland.  Musa Broch in the Shetland Islands is, perhaps, the best preserved broch in the country.  It is shown in the pictures in the gallery to the right.

Here are a few sources if you would like to read more about An Dun Gael, the White Fortress, or about Scotland’s Brochs:

“Explore the Iron Age of Loch Tay and Loch Tummel.” Scotland Forestry Service. Click Here.

“Monarch of Antiquity.” Sacred Connections Scotland. Click Here.

Perthshire in History and Legend.  Archie McKerracher.  John Donald Publishers, LTD.  Edinburgh. 2000.

“Dun Gael.” CANMORE: National Record of the Historic Environment.  Click Here. 

“Broch.” Wikipedia. Click Here.