Castle Point Fort, Cullykhan, Pennan

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Castle Point Fort

Castle Point is more than a picturesque headland: it is an amazing display of Iron-Age engineering, Pictish re-fortification, medieval lordship and early-modern coastal defence can all be read in successive layers of stone, timber and vitrified glass. Despite a decade of mid-20th-century digging, key chronological pins and behavioural questions remain open—making the site a prime candidate for 21st-century, minimally invasive science.

Quick orientation

Perched on a sandstone headland just west of Pennan harbour (OS grid NJ 837 661), Castle Point commands a small anchorage and the sea-lane that skirts the Moray Firth. A 4 m-wide isthmus links the point to high ground inland; everywhere else sheer cliffs fall to Cullykhan Bay, giving a naturally defensible promontory of c. 1 ha. (Canmore)

Stratigraphy of occupation

Phase	Date‐range	Main works & features	Notes
Palisaded promontory	late Bronze/early Iron Age (c. 1000–800 BC)	Timber palisade barricading the neck; ring-ditch house & yard surfaces behind.	Earliest human use detected so far. (online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk)
Timber-laced rampart I	8th–5th c. BC (posthole RC dates 750–200 BC)	Massive stone-and-timber wall with inset gateway; later dismantled.	Dendrochronology & charcoal radiocarbon underpin dating. (online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk)
Rampart II – vitrified	c. 4th–2nd c. BC	Second wall set 8–10 m seaward; intense firing, fused sandstone blocks.	Metallurgical hearths and crucible sherds in the interior suggest on-site metal-working. (Britain Express, online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk)
Ditches & possible Pictish hall	mid-1st millennium AD	Twin flat-bottomed ditches recut across the neck; sub-rectangular timber hall beside SE rampart.	Interpreted as Early-Historic (Pictish) refurbish­ment. (Historic Environment Scotland)
Norman / Medieval tower	late 12th – 17th c.	Rectangular keep (12 × 8.8 m; walls 1.8 m thick) with cobbled court and kitchen wing – traditionally “Castle of Troup”.	Excavated footings; mason’s marks on fallen arch stones. (Archaeology Data Service)
Fort Fiddes artillery battery	late 17th – 19th c.	Earthwork gun-platform and bank commanding Cullykhan Bay; 2 cannon recorded.	Coastal defence during Jacobite and Napoleonic scares. (Historic Environment Scotland)
WWII coast-watch post	1940s	Concrete observation hut on outer head.	Part of east-coast early-warning chain. (Historic Environment Scotland)

Highlight discoveries

Vitrified wall-core – Glassy slag bands up to 0.5 m thick prove in-situ firing above 1100 °C, matching the Scottish vitrified-fort tradition. (Canmore)

Radiocarbon & dendro dates – Charred gate-posts and wall-timbers give calibrated ages spanning 750-200 BC, fixing the conflagration firmly in the Middle Iron Age. (online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk)

Craft activity – Furnaces, crucible fragments and mould spatter point to bronze‐ and iron-working inside the fort prior to its destruction. (Britain Express)

Artefact spread – Neolithic flints, jet bracelet pieces, Roman coarse-ware sherds, high-medieval pottery and post-medieval clay-pipes together chart four millennia of intermittent use. (Canmore)

Chronicle of research

Year(s)	Investigators & method	Key outcomes
1777	Rev. Williams sketches “vitrified ruins”	First published notice of prehistoric defences. (Canmore)
1963-72	Aberdeen College of Education Archaeological Society (J C Greig & R H Cairns) – season-long excavations	Defined five prehistoric phases, uncovered medieval tower, logged vitrification; left sample trenches open for demonstration. (Canmore)
1971 & 1974 papers	Greig publishes interim & final Iron-Age reports	Sets Castle Point alongside Burghead & Barry Hill in N-east coastal fort sequence. (scarf.scot)
2012	M. Greig’s re-analysis of the castle (PSAS 142)	Detailed building plan, mason’s marks, siege-fire evidence; refined medieval timeline. (Archaeology Data Service)
2000s-present	Scheduled-monument surveys (HES) & UAV Photogrammetry	Quantified erosion, mapped battery earthworks, created 3-D terrain mesh for public outreach. (Historic Environment Scotland)

Why Castle Point matters

• Complete coastal sequence – From palisaded promontory through vitrified rampart to gun battery, the site mirrors 2,500 years of changing military technology in one place. (Historic Environment Scotland)
• Key vitrification data-set – Rare sandstone-based vitrified wall offers comparative material for temperature modelling otherwise dominated by gneiss and basalt forts. (Canmore)
• Gateway Preservation – The timber-laced entrance is one of the best preserved Iron-Age gateways in north-east Scotland, enhancing experimental reconstructions of fort access systems. (online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk)
• Community visibility – Short access path from Cullykhan car-park and adjacent beach make the fort ideal for citizen-science geophysics or guided landscape walks. (walkhighlands)

Outstanding questions & research potential

Theme	Why it matters	Next logical step
Function of vitrification	Deliberate show of power, accidental battle damage or ritual closure?	Micro-CT of slag vesicles vs. controlled experimental firing.
Pictish phase dating	Ditches & hall could tighten chronology of coastal lordships.	Targeted OSL & archaeomagnetic sampling in ditch fills.
Medieval tower occupation	Documentary record scant; artefact spread suggests 13th-17th c.	Mortar (lime-burp) radiocarbon & comparison with regional masonry.
Battery service record	Fort Fiddes’ armament and garrison unknown.	Archive search of Admiralty correspondence + metal-detector survey under licence.

Grid ref: NJ 837 661 Ordnance Survey Landranger series sheet no’s 29 and 30

Castle Point Fort - 1m LiDAR - National Library of Scotland

Castle Point Fort - 1752 Roy Map - National Library of Scotland

Notes on Excavations

10 miles W of Fraserburgh. Access to this Promontory fort is by a motorable track N from the B9031, W of the steep-sided valley of the Tore of Troup. The site, which dominates the little Cullykhan Bay, is reached by walking along a narrow path NE from the car park. Excavation has illustrated the complex defensive history of this site during later prehistoric times. Initially, the Knoll, marking the landward extremity of the site, was fortified by at least one palisade. This was subsequently replaced by a timber-and-stone wall, related to German examples, with an elaborate gateway. Later still, a smaller area was enclosed by a wall which had been vitrified. Occupation evidence includes indications of metalworkers' workshops. There is also evidence of use, though not fortification, in Dark Age times and the remains of a still later castle. Excavations have revealed remains of a 12th-century structure, including a possible circular timber building on a stone foundation, dated by coins and other artifacts. Additionally, there are earthworks and ditches from the Iron Age, which were part of the fort's defensive system. The site also contains evidence of medieval occupation, with various structural features indicating development into the 13th and 14th centuries. These findings provide a fascinating glimpse into the historical use and evolution of this promontory fort. Excavations have uncovered various fascinating artifacts. Among the finds are coins and pottery, which help date the site's various periods of occupation. Additionally, remnants of a possible circular timber building on a stone foundation were discovered, providing insights into the construction techniques used. Other artifacts include tools and everyday items that shed light on the daily lives of the people who once inhabited this ancient fort.

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