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Showing posts from June, 2013

The Drummonds of Strathearn - their Castle , Rob Roy and a King's mistress !

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The Keep  Picture posted on Facebook by David Cowan  of Crieff   From my collection - pic from about 1890 Who were the Drummonds ? Clan traditions credit the founder of the clan as Maurice of Hungary, a Hungarian prince descended from Árpád, who is said to have accompanied Edgar Ætheling, heir to the English throne, and his sister Saint Margaret of Scotland, when they sailed there in 1066 to escape the Norman conquest of England. This disregards accepted history that Edgar and Margaret were brought to England in 1057 by their father, Edward the Exile: Edward died immediately (some say he may have been murdered), and his children lived at the Court of England's King Edward 'the Confessor' with their mother Agatha. Edgar, about thirteen in 1066, was elected king of England after the battle of Hastings and the death of his cousin King Harold II, but together with the rest of the English government submitted to Guillaume (William) of Normand

The History of the Broich Cursus Gradually Unravels !

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  Dr Brophy points out the extent of the Broich Cursus  Crieff High School pupils lay out the plan of the Pittentian Round house    The growing importance of Strathearn as an area of significance in   a Neolithic Scotland   was further emphasised last week with the   visit to the Campus   site   by Dr Kenneth   Brophy of Glasgow University and his archaeologist colleague Ally Becket of Northlight Heritage . The visitation   was   part of the Perth and Kinross Archaeology Month organised   by the Perth and Kinross Heritage trust . Apart   from the   significance of the Cursus dating   back to 3000 BC a number of recent finds   throughout the Strath have now   firmly established this part of Perthshire as something unique   in the long path to Scottish nationhood . Ally Becket discussed in some detail the   Pittentian round   house   located   during the   pre construction work on the Beauly   to Denny overhead power line . It was graphically illustra

The Carpow Logboat a late Bronze Age gem plucked from mud banks of the River Tay

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     The Carpow Logboat    It is quite astonishing   how much of   our early past   is being revealed thanks   to the fastidious   work of   our dedicated archaeologists and associates . In these blogs   we have   discussed the early Neolithic findings including the Crieff Cursus , the Forteviot   burial sites and the timber   round   houses revealed   during the preliminary work on the Beauly to Denny power lines . What    should   not   be ignored is   a quite astonishing   discovery   at Carpow where the River Earn joins up with the mighty Tay .   Carpow Bank is a small tidal shelf lying off the south side of the river .   The name Carpow appears on a many ancient maps There is a belief that here the Romans   established a boat   bridge providing a crossing to the north side of the Tay . This would have been close to their Fort at Carpow . According to   David Strachan’s   superb   book “ Carpow in Context ” ( Society of Antiquaries of Scotland . Edinburgh 20