Page 36 - Archaeology - October 2017

In the Galloway region of southwestern Scotland, Trusty’s Hill is difficult to see from the Fleet Valley below. This intentionally
inconspicuous spot would have made it the perfect location, in turbulent times, for a royal stronghold
he fort at trusty’s hill has puzzled scholars for itting atop a craggy rise overlooking the Fleet Valley
hundreds of years. At its entrance lies a natural outcrop and the Solway Firth, an inlet of the Irish Sea, the fort at
Tof stone engraved with carvings featuring an abstract STrusty’s Hill would have been difficult to make out from
design typical of the Picts, a group of tribes native to the far the valley, a deliberate choice, Bowles says. The site appears
north and east of Scotland known for their fearsome attacks to have been settled originally around 400 B.c., based on
on neighboring peoples and for having maintained their inde- radiocarbon dating and the discovery of a single glass bead
pendence throughout Roman rule. This is strange, as Trusty’s typical of the time.
Hill lies hundreds of miles south of where such carvings are After centuries of abandonment, the hilltop was resettled
generally found. Another curious feature of the fort—perhaps starting around the late fifth century a.d. and was fortified
connected to the carvings, perhaps not—is that at some point, during the sixth or early seventh century. It was during this
it was burned down in a fierce fire. period that a small but vital enclave was established there,
In 1960, archaeologist Charles Thomas led an excavation complete with battlements and a robust metalworking facil-
at Trusty’s Hill that was dogged by bad luck. With the project ity. Fortifications may well have been constructed in response
understaffed, Thomas enlisted Boy Scouts to do the digging, to a heightened sense of threat and also, perhaps, to protect
but they found little as rain fell without cease, turning the soil the fortress’s wealth. Archaeologists have uncovered stone
to a gloppy black mud from which it was almost impossible to ramparts measuring 7.5 feet across, laced with three-foot-
extract artifacts. Nonetheless, the dig turned up enough evi- wide oak timbers, most likely harvested from a nearby man-
dence to establish that the site had been inhabited sometime aged woodland. Just inside the ramparts, researchers found
after 200 B.c. Thomas speculated that it was a Dark Ages a collection of rounded river stones believed to have been
settlement, but couldn’t nail down the dates of habitation or slingshot ammunition, further suggesting that the fort was
connect its people to the Pictish carvings. on a wartime footing.
Over the years, the mystery of Trusty’s Hill has only grown Inside these heavy fortifications stood two structures: a
deeper. Thomas had proposed that the carvings commemo- residence on an upper platform and a crafts area on a lower
rated a fallen Pictish leader who had been responsible for the one. “There would have only been room for two buildings in
fort’s fiery demise. Others suggested that the carvings might the interior—fairly large buildings, but we’re talking about a
have been faked. In 2012, Bowles and Toolis re-excavated very small number of people living on the hill,” says Bowles.
Thomas’ trenches with a team of volunteers. “We wanted to The crafts area was extremely active. A range of implements
verify that the Pictish carvings were legitimate and, at best, we for working leather, including a socketed iron tool and a variety
were hoping for some radiocarbon dates,” says Bowles. “We of stones used to smooth and soften leather goods, have been
ended up finding quite a bit more.” excavated there. Crucibles, furnace lining, and clay molds for

34 ARCHAEOLOGY • September/October 2017