If you go up to the woods today…
Err...you might ask - What's that got to do with Book Week Scotland? What follows is some of my every second Saturday post at my Writing Wranglers and Warriors blog but this REBLOG also has added extras about the history of the Hill of Tuach.
"The ‘up’ isn’t a mistake when I’m referring to the woods
at the top of Tuach Hill (pronounced: too-ah) the hill that I can see from my kitchen window in the
village of Kintore
It’s important to me that these ancient monuments are still accessible by the public – and by my hunter-gatherer grandkids –
but the downside of that freedom is that over the last centuries many of the
monuments have been considerably eroded. That erosion isn’t necessarily from
intended damage to the stones but constant foot traffic and soil wearing away
has taken its toll. Tuach Hill is a well-liked place for dog walkers and it has
been a popular spot for teenagers to hang- out in for many decades—probably
even centuries. Lots of those users have been, and are still, blithely unaware
of the antiquity within the area.
It’s a great place to go exploring when you’re only 4 and 1
and ½ years old—and it’s totally amazing just what grandma sets you to find
along the way! Our collection of pine cones, twigs and forest floor debris
increases each time we go for a wander, though we’ve yet to find anything
seriously ancient.
In 1864, a local historian named Watt
identified the Neolithic stone circle on Tuach Hill as having 6 remaining
stones of a circle that was originally 24 feet in diameter. He states that
there was, until recently (i.e. sometime shortly before 1864), a flat stone
supported by smaller stones at the centre and the whole circle was surrounded
by a wide trench and bank of 12 feet wide. Excavations made at the site (probably
by him) revealed four cremation burials at the bases of the upright stones,
three of which had inverted urns covering the remains. Further cremation burials were suspected at
the bases of other stones and more at the central stone. The stone circle on
Tuach Hill had clearly been an important ceremonial site for a very long time
Sadly, 20 years later it was recorded
that only 2 stones remained upright, though exactly why such deterioration had
happened in a very short time is unclear.
Today only one stone is upright with a few other bits and pieces scattered around it.
A recent small excavation of the site
was done in 2011 and the results can be accessed here, the gist of it being
that the remains on Tuach Hill are unusual in that they are thought to be of a
mixture of those typical of a small henge monument yet they are also common to the
settings found in the last types of stone circles to be laid down in the late
Bronze Age.
You'll get details of that find here:
You'll get details of that find here:
I love visiting the remains of the
stone circle at Tuach Hill because they are almost on my doorstep and because I've written about Tuach Hill in one of my novels (The Taexali Game), though I have to
acknowledge that there are many other circles in Aberdeenshire which are much more impressive, details of which can remain for another blog post.
The Scottish Gaelic form of Kintore is Ceann-an-Torr . The
Ceann part means the head or the end of …and ‘Torr’ means a round hill. This is
thought to refer to Tuach Hill which is to the south of the town.
According to tradition, though any paper document as proof
is long lost, Kintore was first inhabited in the 9th Century AD.
It’s said that the locals helped King Kenneth MacAlpine to fight the invading
Danes (Vikings) by covering themselves with oak branches and driving their
cattle towards the enemy- allowing Kenneth to rout the Danish intruders. How
true that is cannot be proven, and my mind boggles at the images I can create
for such a scene, but I can easily envisage it all happening at Tuach Hill. The present heraldic Coat of Arms having been formally
granted in 1959 incorporates the oak and the cows of the fabled battle.
I’d love to find more time to investigate the Kenneth
MacAlpin era because he is credited with having been the first proper ‘king’ of
the whole of Scotland .
Before the time of the above legend involving killing the Danes, Kenneth
MacAlpin was King of Dalriada, a huge tract of land in the West of Scotland.
Kintore, in pre- MacAlpin times was part of what is loosely named Pictland, the
last king of the area thought to have been Drest mac Fethal (IX) who was most
likely killed by Kenneth Mac Alpin around AD 848. Why the locals then assisted their new ruler very soon
after, approximately AD 850, is intriguing though a good degree of coercion
comes to my mind.
Tuach Hill has also been called the Gallows Hill though, to date, I can find no research data which explains why this should be so...though you can find out one theory I've ruled out by reading The Taexali Game.
In The Taexali Game, my time travel novel for Middle Grade/YA readers, set in
Kintore in AD 210, my local Taexali chief is called Tuadh. In the earlier
drafts of the novel he was named Tuach, and then Tuoch, but in my final version
I settled on the spelling of Tuadh. The reason for this has to do with the
local mystery that my time travellers have to solve, in addition to completing
their interactive game task list whilst remaining alive- the threats to them
coming from both the invading Ancient roman legions and some local Celtic
tribesmen. To know the answer as to why I changed his name- again, you’ll need to read
the novel.
A reviewer says: “(I)… soon became drawn into this
fast-paced quest with a strong sense of history, and can only admire the skill
of grandmother Nancy Jardine in using a meld of fiction, research and fantasy
to educate the young of today in the world of ancient Roman Britain.”
About Book Week Scotland?
About Book Week Scotland?
Next week, 23rd to 29th November, is
Book Week Scotland. This annual event is a week long celebration of
reading during which activities are held throughout Scotland intended to encourage and
promote the pleasures gained from reading. In 2013, a local author friend and I
held an afternoon Drop-In Quiz at a local cafe, and my 2014 contribution was an author talk at a local
Public Library.
During Book Week Scotland 2015 The Taexali Game will be reduced to 99p
(dollar equivalent). There will also be a ‘giveaway’ of signed paperback copies
of The Taexali Game via my Rubidium Time Travel Series author page on
Facebook. Look out for the details here on late Saturday 21st Nov :
It’s my way of celebrating this year but I did wonder what
else I might have done. What would you have done?
Very interesting, thank you! Do you know why it was named Tuach Hill?
ReplyDeleteNo, Sarah. I could not find any thing when this post was published back in 2015, and I've still nothing definite. In Gaelic 'tuath' means north/ northern; it can also mean peasantry/ tenantry. So, it may be that in past centuries the Earls of Kintore recognised it as a hill for the peasants to have access to. 'Tuathanach' means farmer. The spelling 'Tuach' remains an elusive meaning.
ReplyDelete...and quite importantly for me and my writing 'tuagh' can mean - axe.